NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION

121

INCIDENT REPORTING & NOTIFICATION

Supersedes:    AR 121 (09/04/90) AR 332 (02/01/90)

Effective Date:  05/08/08

AUTHORITY

NRS 209.131

RESPONSIBILITY

All Department employees are responsible to:

1.  Make appropriate notifications concerning incidents, activities, or events of immediate interest or concern which take place within the jurisdiction of, or which impact, the Department.

2. Formally document, in an approved written format, reportable incidents, activities, or events which take place within the jurisdiction of, or which impact the Department.

3. Know and comply with this Administrative Regulation.

121.01 Nevada Offender Tracking Information System (NOTIS)

1. The Nevada Offender Tracking Information System (NOTIS) is the authorized formal reporting instrument for the Nevada Department of Corrections.

121.02 DEPARTMENT NOTIFICATION DESK

1. The Department Notification Desk will be established at a Department institution designated by the Director as a centralized institution to report incidents, activities or events of immediate interest or concern within the jurisdiction of, or which impact the Department during non-business hours.

A. The designated Department institution will establish an Operational Procedure for the operation of the Department Notification Desk.

2. The Department Notification Desk will maintain contact numbers for Department and Institutional administrators and managers, and for other outside response agencies.

3. Upon receiving a notification, staff assigned to the Department Notification Desk will ensure that appropriate administrative contacts are made.

121.03 NOTIFICATIONS

1. Department employees will make timely verbal notifications to their supervisors, using the appropriate chain of command, concerning incidents, activities or events of immediate interest or concern within the jurisdiction of, or which impact the Department and for which the employee has knowledge.

A. Such incidents, activities or events include but are not limited to:

a. Unusual or serious criminal activity or acts of violence

b. Escapes

c. Serious security breeches

d. Significant uses of force

e. Serious accidents, injuries, illnesses

f. Deaths

g. Significant health, safety or risk management issues

h. Significant property damage

i. Emergency dispatch of inmate work crews

j. Off duty law enforcement contacts

k. Driver’s license suspension/revocation

l. Outside agency assists

m. Employee misconduct

n. Other unusual or serious issues.

B. On duty employees should make notifications as soon as is safely practicable following the occurrence, and in all instances before the end of their shift.

C. Off duty employees should make notifications as soon as possible and not longer than 24 hours following the occurrence.

a. Notification can be made to the involved employee’s institution/facility on duty shift supervisor or the Department Notification Desk using telephone or other available means.

2. The on-duty Shift Supervisor will ensure that appropriate notifications are made to the involved Institution/Facility administrator, and after regular business hours, to the Administrative Officer of the Day (AOD) and to the Department Notification Desk.

A. In the event of an unusual occurrence or emergency situation, notification procedures outlined in the Emergency Response Manual concerning the specific situation should be followed.

B. Notifications should be made considering individual “need to know” and “right to know” requirements based upon the specific incident, activity or event.

3. During regular business hours, it is the involved Institution/Facility administrator’s responsibility to ensure that all other appropriate notifications are made.

4. During non-business hours, it is the responsibility of the Department Notification Desk to ensure that all other appropriate notifications are made.

121.04  REPORT PREPARATION

1. Department employees will formally document in written form using approved formats, incidents, activities, or events which take place within the jurisdiction of, or which impact the Department using the NOTIS Incidents and Offenses in Custody, Incident Detail data entry function. 

A. Such incidents, activities or events include but are not limited to:

a. Criminal activity or violence

b. Escapes

c. Classification issues

d. Evidence/property issues

e. Correspondence

f. Security threat group issues

g. Security breeches

h. Violations of AR 707

i. Uses of force

j. Accidents, injuries, illnesses, deaths

k. Health, safety or risk management issues

l. Significant property damage

m. Emergency dispatch of inmate work crews

n. Miscellaneous institution history

o. Off duty law enforcement contacts

p. Outside agency assists

q. Driver license suspension/revocation

r. Employee misconduct.

2. Creation of the Preliminary Incident Detail Report in NOTIS will cause the Institution Report (IR) number to be generated. 

A. Institution/Facility administrators will designate staff members who are authorized to initiate the Preliminary Incident Detail Report and generate an IR number.

B. Only one IR number should be generated per incident, activity or event.

C. All involved staff member, inmate, and other person information should be included in the appropriate sections of the Preliminary Incident Detail report.

D. All sections of the Preliminary Incident Detail Report screen should be completed, including all Incident Questions, and when relevant, all Use of Force questions, Staff and Offender Incident Detail questions.

E. The Incident Detail narrative should consist of a brief summary of the incident, activity or event.

3. Each involved staff member should complete a Staff Report (DOC 028) using the NOTIS Staff Reports function for each incident, activity or event involving them, or for which they have relevant information.

A. The DOC 028 should be associated with the related Incident Detail Report IR number.

B. Individual DOC 028s should articulate in detail information known to the employee concerning the relevant incident.

C. If the NOTIS system is unavailable, employees should complete a hand written report, using the appropriate report format, and submit that to a supervisor for later input into NOTIS.

D. Hand written reports should be used infrequently and only in unusual circumstances. 

4. Institution/Facility administrators should ensure that an Incident Report (DOC 019) is completed, using the NOTIS Staff Reports function, for any unusual or serious incident, activity or event.

A. Such unusual or serious incidents, activities or events include but are not limited to:

a. Criminal activity or violence

b. Escapes

c. Security breeches

d. Uses of force

e. Accidents, injuries, illnesses, deaths

f. Health, safety or risk management issues

g. Significant property damage.

B. The DOC 019 should be associated with the related Incident Detail Report IR number.

C. The 019 should contain a detailed description of the entire incident including the date, time, and location of the incident; the nature of the incident; criminal acts committed and by whom; all injuries; property damage; weapon information; specific description of recovered evidence; specific description of any use of force and by whom; medical treatment information; notification information.

D. If known and when relevant, the DOC 019 should contain any actions taken as part of the disciplinary or classification process related to the incident, including criminal prosecution referrals, family notifications, and preventative measures.

5. A Use of Force Report (DOC 1664) should be completed whenever a Department employee utilizes force in the performance of official duties.  

A. Each employee who employs force in a specific incident should complete a Use of Force Report.

B. The Use of Force Report should be associated with the related Incident Detail Report IR number.

C. The type of force used should be explained with specific detail.

6. On duty employees should complete reports as soon as is safely practicable following an occurrence, and in all instances before the end of their shift.

7. Off duty employees should complete reports as soon as possible and not later than the end of their next scheduled shift.

121.05 REPORT REVIEW

1. Supervisors should review reports submitted by subordinates daily prior to the end of their shift.

2. Institution/Facility administrators should routinely review reports generated by employees at their institution/facility.

3. Security concerns may in rare circumstances cause exceptions to the report review process.

121.06 REPORT SECURITY

1. Reports generated by Department employees are official Department documents.

A. Such reports are the property of the Department. 

B. Reports shall not be routinely copied. 

C. Reports shall not be removed, concealed, altered, falsified, destroyed, stolen or otherwise tampered with. 

D. Reports shall only be copied pursuant to Department business. 

E. Reports or copies of reports shall not be removed from Department facilities without authorization.

121.06 APPLICABILITY

1. This Administrative Regulation requires Institutional Procedures.

2. This Administrative Regulation requires an audit.

_____________________________________                                 

Howard Skolnik, Director                                                                     Date