NCJ Number
203165
Journal
Sheriff Volume: 55 Issue: 5 Dated: September-October 2003 Pages: 30-32
Editor(s)
Mike Terault
Date Published
September 2003
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article briefly presents parts of information covered during the 12-hour training session of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) program established in 1998 to prepare sheriffs to plan, equip, and train their officers in effectively responding to a WMD incident, and future WMD training programs on community involvement and partnership and the evacuation planning for jail inmates.
Abstract
In 1998, through funding support from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Domestic Preparedness, the Weapons of Mass of Destruction (WMD) program was initiated and designed to prepare sheriffs, through a comprehensive training, to prepare for a WMD incident. Each training session is a 12-hour block of instruction offering a broad overview of the terrorist threat and addressing appropriate response strategies. This article presents part of the information covered during the 12-hour training session: (1) introduction to WMD and the terrorist; (2) weapons of mass destruction; (3) planning WMD incidents; (4) coordinated response to WMD incidents; (5) strategies and tactics; and (6) course summary. In addition, the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) introduces two new training programs scheduled for implementation in 2004. The first is on community involvement and partnership training which when implemented will cover community awareness, community resource database, desktop exercise, and action planning. The second focuses on intelligence gathering, understanding and sharing training in a jail environment, and planning for long-distance evacuation of inmates. The training module will include course overview, purposes, and goals; identifying the threat; threat and incident information; plans, exercises, and contingencies; initial response to an incident; making the move of personnel, inmates, and key equipment and supplies; actions at distant site; and phases of action for return to the jail facility. Participating in these trainings will aid in the understanding of the many additional roles, responsibilities, and potential contributions that sheriffs and their command staff can and must make to ensure the effectiveness of a community’s overall response to WMD incidents.