WilCo Sheriff's Office Forms FBI-Sanctioned Rapid Deployment Team

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office on Friday announced it had joined the FBI’s National Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team — a specialized mix of emergency responders that can quickly be deployed in situations when mere moments matter.

Some background on the CARD team, as provided by the sheriff's office: In 2015, members of the FBI’s National Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) team began developing local child abduction teams using its own processes as template. Such teams comprised law enforcement officials from local, state, and federal agencies within a specific area of responsibility.

To achieve distinction as Joint-Child Abduction Rapid Deployment teams, local law enforcement agents undergo specialized training by members of the FBI CARD team to be utilized as first responders for their national counterparts. Such teams deploy at the request of a chief or sheriff to assist the respective agency and be on scene in a shortened period of time. These granular teams also can assist with command post operations, interact with neighborhoods, set up road blocks, canvas area with video and provide guidance based on the Child Abduction Response Plan (CARP).

These specialized teams also provide the National CARD team real-time updates to determine if a full deployment is required, the sheriff's office explained in a press advisory. "Formation of a JCARD team serves as a force multiplier and results in substantial cost savings for the requesting agency and the FBI," the WilCo sheriff's office noted.