CERT Team

The Mission of the Corrections Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.) is to provide for the selection, training, and activation of personnel to respond to emergency situations occurring in the Corrections facility which are beyond the normal response capabilities of shift personnel.

Those situations may involve skills such as:

Perimeter Security
Cell Entry and Violent Inmate Removal
S.W.A.T. Support
Team Security
Alternatives to the Use of Force
Chemical Agent Delivery
Forced Cell Lockdown
Evacuations
Hostage Situation Response

The C.E.R.T. Team commits to extensive training of force control, restraint techniques, cell extractions, team formations, and transport techniques. Practical exercises and scenarios are conducted for team development in various conditions and responses.

The Evolution of C.E.R.T.

 The need for a flexible, versatile, and measured response is particularly critical in the current argumentative environment in correctional facilities. Recognizing the constant threat of litigation demands that agencies have terms, which apply different tactics and techniques to resolve widely different situations. A C.E.R.T. Team was created to have operational control to resolve prison violence.

The C.E.R.T. Team was originally started at the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office in 1993 with 10 members. Today the team consists of 16 members.