Submitted by Captain Mike Wresh, Commander, Hennepin County Detention Division, Minneapolis, Minnesota for the 2007 LJN Exchange.
A Correctional Vulnerability Assessment is different from security audits in several ways, because a CVA considers three dimensions of the correctional setting: physical plant, technology, and operations.
In 2006, 12 county jails received a week of training that introduced a powerful new risk management tool developed by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the American Correctional Association (ACA). Building on vulnerability assessment techniques developed by Sandia National Laboratories to protect nuclear power plants and weapons, the ACA project developed a similar tool for use in state prisons. ACA’s Correctional Vulnerability Assessment Handbook (CVA) explains the vulnerability assessment process and serves as the centerpiece of additional resources that have been developed with National Institute of Corrections (NIC) funding.
Sections of this article address what "vulnerability assessment" is; how CVA is different from other risk assessments or security audits; what is involved in the CVA methodology; steps in the CVA process; ways Hennepin County has used CVA findings; and jail vulnerability assessment resources.
Points of view or opinions stated in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.