By Major Richard Anderson, Orange County Corrections Department

During the week of May 6, the Orange County Corrections Department (OCCD) Special Response Team (SRT) placed fourth overall and set a new obstacle course record at the Annual 2007 Mock Prison Riot Training Conference and Competition held in Moundsville, West Virginia.
 
In a two-day competition with 20 teams from around the U.S., the OCCD SRT set a new course record in the Obstacle Course event with an amazing time of 4:18:02 to capture the first place trophy while they took the second place trophy in the 5-man shooting competition to continued their run of high place finishes at the Mock Prison Riot.  Competing members were:  Sgt. Joel Ashe, Sgt. Steve Camacho, Cpl. Ryan Connolly, Cpl. Jason Smith, Cpl. Russell Hatcher, Officer Robert Anderson, Officer Bruce Hagy, Master Corrections Officer Scott Sever, and Officer Adam Berrisford. 
The Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization (OLETC), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center (NCLETTC) and the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation (WVHTCF) annually host a Mock Prison Riot on the grounds of the former West Virginia Penitentiary. The purpose of the riot is to showcase emerging corrections and law enforcement technologies and to give corrections officers and tactical team members an opportunity to use and evaluate emerging technologies in riot training scenarios. It also provides corrections personnel from throughout the country significant training on how to best approach and handle a riot situation. Corrections officials from all over the world, including the West Virginia Division of Corrections, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, Federal Bureau of Prisons, The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Her Majesty's Prison in London, England, have participated in the event.

Through participation at this annual training conference, the OCCD SRT members improve their skill levels and mission-ready capabilities that are necessary to effectively respond to emergency situations within our jails. The SRT is an essential part of the Orange County Corrections Department as we strive to carry out our stated mission to protect the public by operating safe and secure facilities