The first incident the team was called for was to extricate hostages who were being held by four individuals in a juvenile facility. There were four juveniles who barricaded themselves and had assaulted two or three of the staff. They got them into a room that had medical supplies and drugs. Tom Archambault of TJA Training Resource Group, which provides CERT training for county and state corrections, said that more and more counties are coming to realize the benefits of having a CERT team. Now the administrations who said they didn't need a team think they do.
Every facility needs a team.
You are dealing with fewer officers because of direct supervision. Archambault said that the institution of CERT teams has reduced injuries for officers, which translates into money saved in overtime and litigation. Training for county CERT teams is important to consider so that team members are prepared for the range of incidents they may face any given day. According to Archambault, while training can be similar for CERT teams in jails and prisons, he places more emphasis on disturbance and riot control for teams in larger facilities since those are the situations they are often expected to handle. With jails, it is a little different.