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Operation Blue Ridge Thunder works under the auspices of the Bedford County Virginia Sheriff's Office and is comprised of a cooperative group of law enforcement agencies on the international, federal, regional, state and local levels. The Mission of Operation Blue Ridge Thunder is to safeguard our children from Internet crime by
"weaving a seamless web of protection" around them, across the nation and around the globe. A child's innocence can never be replaced.
There is an
alarming abundance of horrifying statistics that support a global need
for a national educational program such as Safe Surfin'. Children have
an ever-growing curiosity of the Internet. Combine their need to explore
with the rapidly evolving cunning of those who seek to exploit children,
more and more often the results are devastating.
C-SORT - Child Sex Offender Registration and Tracking - The state of Virginia has made great strides in enforcing the registration of sex offenders. However, local law enforcement must rely upon the Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry for information regarding convicted sex offenders. Access to this information is limited, at best, as it can only be accessed via the Internet. Thus, there is no readily available information regarding convicted sex offenders to officers in the field. In the event of a missing child or any other matter regarding a child, sheriff's personnel have no readily available information regarding convicted sex offenders who may reside in the area of the incident. This funding enables the Sheriff's office to increase the accountability of convicted sex offenders through regular and consistent monitoring of sex offenders via personal visits by law enforcement.
All convicted offenders residing in Bedford County and City will be identified, verified that they are properly registered, will be entered into BCSO's database that includes information regarding their appearance, updated photographs, employment, vehicle identification, family history, current legal status, etc. It is anticipated that the increased accountability placed upon the convicted sex offenders will prevent crime through their reduced involvement in criminal activity as well as reduce sex offender recidivism due to the projects increased supervision of this class of criminal. BCSO's C-SORT unit is under the supervision of Chief Gary Reynolds, Retd., Special Assistant to the Sheriff.
Anti-Terrorism
Initiative: The Bedford County
Sheriff's Office responded to the terrorist attacks on the United States
while the rescue efforts were underway on the morning of 9/11/2001.
Mobilizing all available deputies, alerting the community and
safeguarding strategic sites in Bedford County were the first steps
taken by Sheriff Mike Brown. Since that date Sheriff Brown has been
diligent in his work to detect and prevent terrorist activity within
Bedford County and throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Sheriff Brown's ongoing programs to combat terrorism include a partnership with the Community Anti-Terrorism Training Institute, a nationwide program educating citizens and law enforcement officers on how to recognize early signs of terrorist activity and what to do with that intelligence information. The program involves the joint efforts of law enforcement and the community and thereby enhances neighborhood security, heightens the community's power of observation, and encourages mutual assistance and concern among neighbors. Four staff members from the BCSO have been certified as instructors. Those Deputies have been conducting training throughout the Commonwealth during the past year.
The citizens training program, which lasts approximately 90 minutes, is available to interested civic groups and organizations upon request. Many groups such as Neighborhood Watch and RSVP have already begun training of their members. There is no charge for the instructor to present the course at a location convenient to the class attendees.
Interested civic groups and law enforcement agencies within the Commonwealth of Virginia can contact Lt. Tony Martin at tmartin@bedfordsheriff.org to request more information or to set up a training program. Agencies and organizations outside the Commonwealth may contact Lt. Martin for referral to an instructor in their home state. Private corporations concerned about terrorist attack are also invited to inquire about threat assessment and training costs provided by C.A.T. Eyes.
Bedford County Combined Accident Reduction Effort: In response to the exceptionally high rate of teen driving fatalities in Bedford County, Sheriff Brown's Community Service Division are working with local business leaders to help raise funds for the purchase of SkidCar technology.
"Bedford County has been plagued by a high rate of
teen fatalities", says Sgt. David Marsh of the Community Service
Division who is heading up this project, "most of these crashes were due
to 'over correcting' when hitting the shoulder of the road or a patch of
ice".
"SkidCar" Technology is a combination of mechanical and hydraulic
components that look like a giant set of training wheels. Mounted on to
a vehicle, the SkidCar system duplicates hazardous driving conditions
such as ice, snow, rain slick roads from gas or oil spills. All of this
training is done with done with a qualified instructor in the vehicle
with the driving student and the car is run at low speeds, 5 to 10 mph.
"SkidCar" has been a standard in driver training for law enforcement,
fire, and rescue. Now Bedford teens will have available this extremely
effective training tool as part of their driver education classes.
Sheriff Brown is confident that by giving young drivers the opportunity
of experiencing what a skid "feels" like and how to best react to a skid
in a controlled environment, will greatly help reduce the injuries and
fatalities among our young drivers in Bedford County.
"Our goal is to raise community awareness and urge citizens and local
businesses to become involved and help raise the funds needed support
and continue this program in Bedford County. This training is essential
to the future of our young people", says Sheriff Brown.
Bedford County salutes Bedford Automotive for their generous donation of
a Chevy Impala to be used as the SkidCar.
If you or your organization is interested in helping with funding this
project, please contact Sgt. Marsh for further information.
541-586-7718.