This article describes the third annual (1999) mock prison riot held at a closed West Virginia State penitentiary in Moundsville, which was organized by the Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization (OLETC), a special national program office established by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).
This year's mock riot involved approximately 1,109 participants, observers, and technologists from 35 States, the District of Columbia, and six countries. About 700 corrections officials attended, and 125 correctional tactical team members participated. The 3-day event included a full day dedicated to explaining and demonstrating 54 technologies from around the world. One day included eight riot training scenarios, and another day included a corrections conference. The mock riot demonstrated special telemedicine and interoperability technology demonstrations that consisted of emergency and medical units caring for triaged inmates and correctional officers, who were portrayed by 75 criminal justice students and visiting correctional officers. Based on the interactions among project managers, several commercialization negotiations were begun that involved technologies exhibited in the event. Due to this event's popularity among corrections officials, this prison facility is being developed into a year-round training facility called the National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center.