By Christen Croley
The Sentinel
CARLISLE, Pa. — A federal tabletop exercise performed Wednesday vetted Cumberland County’s prison riot response plan against others across the state.
Cumberland County Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Megan Silverstrim said the county tested well and allowed staff “a great opportunity to refresh” their duties in the plan.
“One of the great takeaways is, it allowed staff to consider how they will interact with outside responding agencies and resources that would respond to assist with such an event,” she said. “The exercise was a great learning experience and offered reinforcement that Cumberland County Prison is well prepared and well trained.”
The Federal Emergency Management Institute hosted the program, which requires state, local and federal agencies to connect via web cameras for about four hours. Silverstrim said the institute provides a discussion question for each agency to discuss privately for about 30 minutes, then asks everyone to report back.
“This is a great opportunity for us to learn how other agencies would respond, discuss scenario specific topics and take a close look at our emergency plans,” Silverstrim said. “The county and the staff participating do receive exercise credit and certificates from the federal government for participating.”
Full story: Cumberland County Prison participates in federal table top exercise