A BOLTON company has launched a learning programme which will help Greater Manchester Police tackle child sexual exploitation.

Near-Life, headquartered in the town, has developed a comprehensive course which involves video software and game-style simulation technology.

Those who take part have the chance to be the officer and investigator in the recreation of a child sexual exploitation case.

Every module features written content and videos and includes content on topics such as unconscious bias, recognising risk factors, conducting thorough searches of a missing person’s home and using appropriate language.

The user is given decisions to make and these dictate what happen next meaning officers can improve problem solving and decision making.

The pilot scheme was given £241,000 in funding from Innovate UK in November 2020 to make it possible.

Mike Todd, the chief executive of Near-Life, explained the benefits of “immersive learning.”

He said: “Through our work with Greater Manchester Police over the last 12 months, we’ve really got to understand, in practice, the potential that using a gamified simulation approach has for dealing with a complex, sensitive and challenging topic like investigating potential child sexual exploitation cases.”

“The benefit to using immersive learning is that it allows you to create real-world scenarios and environments tailored to the needs of the user and the business.

“Research published by Ofcom found that it can improve knowledge retention by as much as 90 per cent.”

He added: “Undoubtedly, the learning supply chain is being disrupted.

“The pandemic has brought with it many new ways of working and immersive technology has been given the chance to really demonstrate how it can be a cost-effective way to improve engagement in ways that are customisable to the user, scalable and generate better results.”

Supt Gareth Parkin from GMP also welcomed the development.

He added: “GMP is constantly looking at how to improve learning to help keep our communities safe. This interactive pilot project with Near-Life, which focuses on a very important topic, is a key part of our ongoing efforts to explore new ways in which innovation can support our work.”