Great Barrington Police Awarded Grant for Virtual Reality Training

08:16AM / Thursday, October 23, 2025Print Story | Email Story

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. The Great Barrington Police Department (GBPD) announced it has been awarded a $29,988 grant through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Commonwealth's Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS).

This competitive grant will fund the purchase and implementation of an advanced Virtual Reality (VR) training system designed to enhance officer preparedness, decision-making, and community safety.

The VR system, developed by Street Smarts VR, immerses officers in realistic training environments where they can safely practice responses to violent crime, drug-related incidents, and behavioral health crises. The program supports GBPD's mission to protect life and property while ensuring that officers are trained to de-escalate situations and serve with professionalism and empathy.

"This investment in our officers' training and safety comes at a crucial time," said Chief Paul Storti. "As the challenges in law enforcement evolve, our tools must evolve with them. The VR system allows us to prepare for complex, high-stress encounters in a way that reduces risk to both officers and the public, ultimately

making Great Barrington safer for everyone."

Traditional training methods such as classroom instruction and limited role-playing exercises cannot fully replicate the dynamic situations officers experience in the field.

The new VR training platform will allow GBPD to:

Simulate a wide range of real-world incidents, including active shooter situations, domestic disturbances, and behavioral health interventions.
Strengthen officers' de-escalation and communication skills in high-pressure environments.
Enhance decision-making and situational awareness to improve public safety outcomes.
Provide ongoing, repeatable, and measurable training without the logistical challenges of large-scale exercises.

With support from the Byrne JAG program, the Great Barrington Police Department is modernizing its approach to professional development and community engagement. The department's goal is not only to improve performance but to build greater community trust, reduce use-of-force incidents, and promote transparency through evidence-based training.

"This technology will transform how our officers train—and how they serve," said Chief Storti. "We're grateful for this opportunity to bring modern, realistic, and compassionate training to the front lines of public safety in Great Barrington."

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Pryor & Peacock's Whimsical Furniture Environmentally Friendly

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:17AM / Friday, August 21, 2026

The company uses digital printing to create the upholstery fabric, saving water and saving vintage furniture from ending up in landfills.

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — A unique furniture store has popped up on Elm Street this month.

Mom-and-daughter store Pryor & Peacock is hosting the pop-up storefront from Aug. 13 to Aug. 25 at 6 Elm. The New Marlborough business is co-founded by Rosalina Wright and Luca Shapiro, who is also the creative director.

Their online shop was created in 2024 but they wanted people to see the pieces in person, so they're renting the space for a limited time before a long-term tenant moves in.

The store sources prints to create unique fabrics and reimagines vintage and antique furniture acquired at auctions, local shops, and online.

"We source prints from all over the world that date from the late 1600s up through mid-20th century, and Luca turns those prints into fabric by manipulating them, scanning them, oftentimes has to add or subtract things, and then we manufacture the fabric using only digital printing, which is very environmentally friendly, unlike traditional textile printing," Wright said.

Upholstering the furniture can take weeks of work. Shapiro looks for the perfect design for each piece and, if need be, uses Adobe Photoshop to extend the art work to fit or enhance the print.

"One of the most difficult parts comes in marrying the fabric to a piece of furniture because we only use antique and vintage frames also to be earth friendly, and they're also more beautiful and durable than new furniture," Wright said. "So the image has to go with the furniture, so that takes a lot of work."

One of Pryor & Peacock's missions is to be environmentally friendly. Digital printing doesn't use the same amount of water as traditional textile productions do nor does it contaminate water with ink according to their website.

Not only are they saving water, but they are saving furniture from going into the landfill while also using more durable furniture that doesn't break as easily as current pieces. They started their business to create something unique and to help the environment together.

"It's creating something nobody else is doing. People can't continue to buy throwaway furniture. Six percent of American landfills is furniture, and digital printing not only opens up the possibility of being able to put unique images on a piece of furniture, but it also is, as I said, environmentally friendly. So, for us, the excitement is to take an old East Lake settee that somebody's going to store in their barn and forget about, and make it something completely new and surprising," Wright said.

They hope their furniture helps bring a pop of fun to someone's home.

"We think our furniture is very whimsical and surprising, and most furniture today is oatmeal colored couches and gray neutral chairs, and it's boring," she said.

The two named their business after their mothers' maiden names to honor them and believe the name reflects their pieces.

Shapiro works in interior design outside of the business and the two liked working together and thought it would be great to start a business together. Shapiro says they can work well together and that her and her mother, Wright, has flipped houses before and have the same eye for design.

"So it's very easy for us to work together. When we see something, generally we agree on whether it works or doesn't work on a piece. We agree on the color schemes and that sort of thing. So it's very fun and fulfilling to work together," Shapiro said.

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