| For Release May 4, 2007 For more information, contact: Liz Cousins at 724-875-2522 |
In 1997, it was a ground-breaking event — the only one of its kind. Eleven years later, the Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization (OLETC) Mock Prison Riot™ is still a ground-breaking event — and now it’s breaking records, too.
The 2007 event, held May 7 through 9 at the former West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville, will host 85 workshops for corrections and law enforcement officers, a 70 percent increase over last year’s record number of workshops. There are 68 tactical scenarios planned, involving 40 corrections and law enforcement teams, more than ever before.
“We have so much lined up this year,” said Steve Morrison, interim director of OLETC. “We have many technologies that have never been here before. In addition, we have more certification workshops than ever before. These certification workshops save valuable training dollars for attendees and allow them to stretch their training budgets.”
The 11th annual OLETC Mock Prison Riot™ will feature several first-time events as well. On Monday, May 7 at noon, all participating teams will take part in a Command March from the penitentiary through the Moundsville Business District. The Command March will offer an opportunity for the community to see the teams who travel to the Ohio Valley and take part in the Riot. It also will provide neighborhood school children the opportunity to observe the Command March as part of their career and community awareness programs.
On Tuesday, the first-ever evening scenario will feature the Wheeling and Weirton, W.Va., police departments raiding a simulated crack house set up inside the chapel on the penitentiary grounds. This also marks the first scenario that is designed specifically for law enforcement officers.
To date, nearly 1,400 attendees have registered, 500 of which are from West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. There are observers coming from as far away as Alaska. In addition, seven countries will be represented during the Riot. These include Singapore, Hong Kong, Norway, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and Israel.
Technologies that are expected to be incorporated into the Riot include the Bomb-Bot, an explosives retrieval and examination device developed by the West Virginia High Technology Consortium (WVHTC) Foundation and used by coalition forces in Iraq.
“This event results in so much quality collaboration between technologists and end-users,” Morrison said. “That is what we are all about — getting the most innovative and effective technology in the hands of the law enforcement and corrections officers who need it.”
The OLETC Mock Prison Riot™ is a program of the Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice and an initiative of the WVHTC Foundation.