Evolution of Our Program

The National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center (NCLETTC) was established in 1998 at the former West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville as a year-round training and technology center for corrections, law enforcement and public safety organizations.

That same year, recognizing the need for a facility that provides training for all public safety agencies and offers a setting for technology evaluation, U.S. Congressman Alan B. Mollohan secured an appropriation of one million dollars from the Small Business Administration. Additional funding was provided by the West Virginia Legislature to renovate certain areas to improve the quality and suitability of the physical plant for active training.

With this funding, the four groups supporting the creation of NCLETTC began working toward establishing and developing the facility as a national asset. The groups include:

The West Virginia Division of Corrections (WV DOC) owns the facility, and the Moundsville Economic Development Council (MEDC) is the leaser and manager of the facility. The Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization (OLETC), a program of the National Institute of Justice, is the technology provider; the National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC), located on the campus of Wheeling Jesuit University, uses their expertise in training development and delivery to make advances at the Center. The vision for the Center has been built on the successful Mock Prison Riots held annually at the former West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville since 1997.

In 1997 the West Virginia Division of Corrections (WV DOC) returned to the facility they had vacated in 1995, but this time for training purposes. What started out as a training exercise for members of Northern Correctional Facility's cell extraction and rescue team (CERT) turned into an exercise in training and technology evaluation.

This first attempt at a "Mock Riot" made headlines and prompted the WVDOC, MEDC and OLETC to plan for a 1998 event. Corrections and law enforcement agencies, as well as product manufacturers, entrepreneurs, inventors, the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and the Department of Energy were in line to be part of the second "Riot."

The 1998 "Riot" was a huge success with representatives from 30 states and three countries observing over 80 tactical personnel from OH, PA, WV and Puerto Rico. The Federal Bureau of Prisons role played as inmates, hostages and officers in planned scenarios.

Over 60 new and emerging technologies were showcased, permitting tactical teams and correctional personnel to see, touch and experiment with the tools that could assist them in their jobs. Many of the technologies were incorporated into the training scenarios. Based on the positive reviews from the participants, the concept of a full-time training center evolved.

Today, the National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center serves as a national facility, lending itself to various training exercises offering a safe and secure environment for technology testing and evaluation. We offer programming to groups from corrections, law enforcement and public safety. Set training modules developed specifically for the facility are scheduled during the year. Also, teams have the opportunity to create scenarios tailored to their specific job or task. The NCLETTC conducts training onsite and via our mobile training team.

For more information on the National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center, e-mail us at: nclettc@nclettc.org or call 877.625.3882