AREA LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE TEAM (ALERT)  

Every law enforcement agency at one time or another will be faced with an emergency or critical incident with a greater risk and a higher potential for the loss of life than normal.  Such incidents may involve confrontations with armed, or barricaded suspects, the rescue of hostages or injured people, snipers, riots, crowd control and dignitary protection.  The methods, techniques and equipment used to resolve these situations may determine the outcome of a life or death situation.

These situations can expose law enforcement personnel to an abnormal amount of risk and personal danger.  To minimize the risk and deal most effectively with these situations requires planning, special weapons, tactics and highly trained personnel.  The result is the formation of a group of carefully selected officers trained with Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT).

At the present time, a number of agencies, including the Sheriff’s Department, do not possess sufficient resources to staff, train, equip and maintain independent SWAT teams.  As a result, the County of Yolo has entered into written agreement with the City of West Sacramento, the City of Woodland, the University of California, Davis, and the city of Winters in the formation of a county-wide, Area Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) as an emergency law enforcement labor resource for Yolo County communities.  ALERT exists to ensure that effective emergency assistance is immediately available in time of natural disasters, tactical events and other law enforcement related critical incidents, which exceed the personnel and resource capabilities of an independent agency.

Recognizing that the presence of a highly trained, highly skilled tactical unit has been shown to substantially reduce the risk of injury or loss of life to citizens, police officers and suspects; and recognizing that a well managed “team” response to critical incidents usually results in successful resolution of critical incidents, it is the intent of the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department to provide highly trained personnel as members of ALERT in the handling of critical incidents.  Four deputies have been carefully selected to receive specialized training, weapons and equipment as part of the Sheriff’s Department’s commitment to ALERT.  In recognizing the need for a command and control structure for the deputies assigned to ALERT, an Administrative Coordinator has been designed to facilitate the organization and operation of the team.  Team Leader, Assistant Team Leader and Equipment /Weapons Officer positions have been designated.