CDP assists Florida county with training

When the Broward County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office (BSO) conducted a successful large-scale tabletop exercise earlier this month, the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) was among those whom it thanked.

Since 2019, the CDP has offered several training opportunities to BSO personnel. This exercise was used to both validate that training and, as Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said, “to ensure we (the county) can have a robust response to any type of major or critical incident, such as a terrorist attack.”

Representatives from the CDP were also present to observe and provide feedback on the event, which involved command-level and line emergency responders from the numerous departments within the Broward Sheriff’s Office – including law enforcement, communications, information technology, detention and fire rescue and emergency services.

Jonathan Yavneh, director of emergency management for the sheriff’s office, said the exercise was critical “… because we get to see what all our training efforts have brought to bare and then identify gaps where we can improve along the way.”

CDP Superintendent Tony Russell was also complimentary of the exercise.

“What’s being done in Broward County is some of the best preparations I’ve seen in my life,” he said.