1-05/050.00 Notification and Reporting of Significant Incidents

Any major or noteworthy incident occurring within the Division shall be brought to the attention of the appropriate Division Area Commander and Security Operations Unit Lieutenant as soon as possible.

It shall be the Court Services Commander's responsibility to personally make notifications to the Chief and Assistant Sheriff in a timely manner.

Notifications should be made even if all the circumstances are not immediately known and prior to an Operations Log or Chief's memo. The notification shall be made telephonically, not by e-mail or fax. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Acts or attempted acts of violence with racial and/or political terrorist implications
• Any significant incident involving any employee or Judicial Officer or Court employee, especially if they are the victim of a crime, either on or off duty
• Any serious employee injury, illness or death, either on or off duty
• Any visits by the Sheriff, Department Executive, or Dignitary
• Any inspection by a government agency, such as the Health Department, Grand Jury, or Department Commander
• Any other unusual incident that would be of interest to the Sheriff or Department Executives
• Arrest or detention of Departmental personnel
• Attempt suicides
• Civil disturbances at any court facility
• Employee relieved of duty
• Escapes and attempt escapes of inmates or inmate workers
• Erroneous release In-custody deaths (natural, accidental, homicide, suicide)
• Inmate disturbances
• Interview of Department personnel by the media
• Local Court decisions affecting any Departmental facility
• Major disasters at any Court Services Division Facility
• Major mechanical failure causing a serious disruption at any Court Services Division Facility
• Officer involved shootings (on or off duty), includes accidental discharge
• Or any other incident that would generate a Chief's Memo or an Operations Log entry
• Significant force incidents that require a PSTD response
• Special Weapons Team responses
• Vehicle collisions involving Department personnel

Sheriff's Operational Log
The purpose of the Operational Log is to immediately inform the Sheriff, Undersheriff, Assistant Sheriff and Division Chiefs of incidents, actions or events beyond the normal scope of routine operations. Entries to the Operational Log shall be made by telephone and require a detailed memorandum to Division Headquarters.

Each Bureau Headquarters, or the responsible Area Lieutenant, shall be responsible for promptly notifying the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau of unusual incidents requiring an Operational Log entry. It should be noted that Operational Log entries are not automatically used as press notifications (Code 20), and that the reporting party has the responsibility to determine if the reported information should be released to the press.

Memorandums to Division Headquarters
Additionally, all significant incidents shall require a memorandum to the Division Chief from the Bureau Commander or designated Lieutenant. This memorandum should be concise, yet contain all pertinent information so that Division Executives will be fully informed of the circumstances involved.

Notification to Court Officials
A notification shall also be made to the Presiding or Site Judge in the District where the incident occurred, unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as a ‘‘confidential’‘ incident. The date and time of the notification, or a reason for not making the notification, shall be included in the memo to the Chief.

After Hour Notification
If the significant incident occurs during the evening or early morning hours or during a weekend/holiday period, notification should be made to the Sheriff Information Bureau (213) 229-2222 who will make the necessary notification. Any reports or memorandum shall be delivered to the Division Chief's office prior to 0830 hours the following business day. The Chief's memorandum should be accompanied by any and all supporting reports and documents.