Police departments in California have started testing Apple’s mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, which they plan to use for viewing surveillance feeds, accessing law enforcement databases and chasing down suspected crimes.

Last month, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department demoed the Apple Vision Pro as it looks to add capabilities in its Real-Time Operations Center, a new unit within the agency that pools together all manner of data, from license plate reads to mobile phone locations to historical criminal records. Typically, this data is visualized on large dashboards across multiple screens.

Orange County Sheriff’s Department CIO Dave Fontneau told Forbes that he’d used the headset to remotely access a virtual version of that real-time crime center, from which he could view maps and police databases, and subsequently do things like deploy officers to a location. This could, one day, remove the need for expensive, centralized real-time crime centers with myriad screens for displaying the data, Fontneau said.

Previously, police have largely used virtual reality headsets for training, allowing cops to experience a simulation of dangerous situations before facing anything in real life. Now, with the help of Apple’s technology, cops are aiming to turn VR into a surveillance tool, allowing officers to access a surveillance center from anywhere.

Apple’s Vision Pro sales could get a boost from a police community hungry for powerful new technologies, even if the price tag of $3,499 is a lot for cash-strapped cops. Analyst firm IDC said Apple had shipped around 200,000 Vision Pros to date this year, and it estimates Apple made $700 million from the devices in the first half of 2024. The overall value of the VR headset market reached $1 billion in the U.S. in that period, up 68.9% from $0.6 billion, growth driven by Apple’s tech. IDC said 36% of market sales have been to commercial entities, though it doesn’t break down sectors for non-consumer shipments. Meanwhile, according to the Vera Institute and the Urban Institute, nonprofits tracking U.S. cops’ funding, America continues to spend well over $100 billion every year on policing. It’s likely that an increasing share of that spending is going toward technology.

Fontneau said Apple’s tool was a natural fit for real-time crime surveillance centers. “I was able to put on the headset and transport myself into the environment and manipulate different aspects,” Fontneau said. “I was able to manipulate maps and bring them up in a 3D environment, move assets, place officers in vehicles and manipulate camera feeds. It was eye opening.

“I'd never worn those Apple Vision goggles, but it was very intuitive. With just a few instructions, I could manipulate and navigate through a mockup of a city, and could put myself within that augmented reality.”

He said that currently the device was too heavy for officers on the street to use the headsets, but he had been told by Apple that the company was already working on a lighter version. Once that’s out, it’s possible cops could use the Vision Pro’s augmented reality features to learn more about their locale, such as crime rates or recent illicit activities in a given neighborhood.

Fontneau said he has been invited to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino for a training day, where he and his staff will learn more about how his agency could use Vision Pros for policing. He said Orange County Sheriff’s Department has already been working closely with Apple on a number of projects and is in discussions about deploying Apple CarPlay - effectively iOS for a vehicle’s built-in display - as a replacement for clunky PCs in police cars. “Apple interfaces very well with the public safety community,” Fontneau added.

Apple didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Orange County isn't the first police agency to experiment with Apple’s virtual reality headset. The Los Angeles Police Foundation confirmed $20,000 would be spent on five Apple Vision Pros for the LAPD, which it hoped would be useful for “enhanced surveillance and monitoring,” as tweeted by investigative journalist Joey Scott. Augmented reality overlays could present officers with critical information over live video feeds or maps, such as license plate reader data, the LAPD said, while 3D visualizations of surveillance feeds could help analysts “quickly identify patterns, correlations and anomalies that might indicate criminal activity.” (The LAPD did not respond to requests for comment.)

“This enhanced situational awareness can improve decision-making, response times and overall officer safety,” wrote deputy chief John McMahon in a proposal for the Vision pro deployment. “We plan to investigate the potential associated with future hands-free operations… This hands-free operation could provide means for officers to remain focused on their surroundings and potential threats while still accessing critical data and resources.”