How VR is Improving the Criminal Justice System

A group of Jurors are sitting in a courtroom confused and distraught after listening to a slew of information from 5 different people. They are deciding on someone’s fate based on words from an incident that they never witnessed.

All of a sudden, a lawyer walks into the courtroom and hands each Juror a device containing a cell phone on the outside. The Jurors are instructed to put the device on their heads and watch what happens. They are transported to a virtual world where the incident that they only heard described through words is being played in front of their eyes. As if they are there while it is happening, able to tell exactly what they see from various points of view.

This is the reality of virtual reality. VR is connected to almost every industry and has disruptive game-changing capabilities.

Everyone knows you can play amazing immersive games with Virtual Reality.

Everyone knows you can watch movies in a full sized cinema with Virtual Reality.

Not a lot of people know however that VR can save people’s lives in the courtroom and make the entire court case much more accurate and exact.

Researchers at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Zurich, Switzerland examined the use of an Oculus Rift to explore 3D computer reconstructions of events and crime scenes examined at trials. VR content would be a new presentation normal but a lot more useful. Just like photos, videos, charts, maps, medical records, and chalkboard diagrams are used, so will a VR simulation. Jurors and judges would be presented with a VR Headset to understand the evidence in a trial.

The research team successfully used the Oculus Rift to recreate a shooting.

Just as an example, 71 years after the Nuremberg trials began, the Bavarian State criminal office (LKA) in Munich has created a virtual reality version of the Auschwitz concentration camp to assist with the continued prosecutions.

The implications of bringing virtual reality into the courtroom could be vastly helpful, but as with other forms of forensic evidence, it could also be subject to bias. Researcher Damian Schofield, from New Scientist warns: “Think of a murder scene: whether you view it from the point of view of the murderer, the victim or a third person will totally change your perception of what’s happening.”

Carrie Leonetti, an associate professor of constitutional law, criminal procedure, and evidence at the University of Oregon School of Law, studies the impact of emerging technology on U.S. trial procedure. She’s worked with many VR pioneers and researchers like Jeremy Bailenson on courtroom use of immersive VR.

“I think there will eventually be a tipping point between VR being this awe-inspiring thing and it being something like a PowerPoint.”

— Carrie Leonetti

Practical Application:

How would VR be applied to courtrooms?

The plaintiff or defendant would hire a VR Development team to reconstruct a scene or event to use in their arguments, which they’d then present to the jury using a VR headset. Reconstructions could certainly be based on a witness or expert witness testimony, and would, therefore, reflect the bias of one side or the other.

“Both sides might have one that they show to the jury,” Leonetti says, “Imagine a trial where somebody is charged with homicide, and their defense is self-defense. Each side would have a virtual environment that would look really different.”

But as long as each virtual environment was consistent with what each side was saying, it would be admitted as an accurate view of testimony.

Forensic researchers are experimenting with virtual reality. The goal is to immerse jurors, judges, and anyo=ne involved in a 3-D simulation of the crime scene, to help them make better-informed decisions as to whether a defendant is guilty or innocent.

Due to courts always being delayed and the way the legal process works, VR will most likely make its appearance in a courtroom in at least two years.

Conclusion

We’ve seen a tremendous amount of disruptive change coming from the Virtual Reality Industry. It is surely certain that this kind of content will accelerate based on trends in the future.

You most likely have some other VR ideas that can change the world! Share them with us on social media!

Originally published at www.vudream.com.