3-14/120.00 Mobilization Criteria and Procedures



In incidents where the control of a situation exceeds, or is likely to exceed, the resources of the involved facility, the watch commander shall assume the role of incident commander and direct the operation and all assistance requests. General emergency response assistance shall be requested initially from the primary back-up facilities listed in the Custody Division Manual, section 3-14/110.00, "Facility Preparedness Responsibilities," and extend to designated secondary back-up units as needed. Back-up facilities should be notified as soon as possible regarding situations which may require their assistance.  

Preliminary notifications may be made by telephone, radio, JDIC message, or MDCS. Refer to the Department Manual of Policy and Procedures section 5-06/020.05, "Tactical Alert," for additional policy in this area.  

Activation of a Facility Operations Center may be initiated by the incident commander of the involved facility, if the duration and scope of the emergency situation will require this level of involvement. Upon activation of any command post and/or Emergency Operation Center (EOC), Custody Support Services Bureau (CSSB) shall be notified immediately. During regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 0600-1700 hours), notification shall be made telephonically to the CSSB unit commander or designee [REDACTED TEXT]. After hours, notifications shall be made to the CSSB unit commander and followed up with an email [REDACTED TEXT].  

If control of the situation exceeds the capacity of the involved facility plus its designated primary and secondary back-up units, the incident commander shall request additional assistance. The Department emergency mobilization procedures, as specified in the Department Manual of Policy and Procedures, sections 5-06/020.00 through 5-06/020.25, "Emergency Mobilization Plan," shall become effective.  

Time and circumstances permitting, the incident commander shall obtain concurrence from the Custody Division EOC prior to expanding the response beyond the designated primary and secondary back-up units.  

Refer to the Department Manual of Policy and Procedures sections 5-06/020.35, "Utilization of Civilian Personnel," and 5-06/020.40, "Utilization of Sheriff's Reserve Deputies," for policy governing utilization of reserve and civilian personnel.  

In addition to the response notifications, the watch commander/incident commander shall ensure that timely notifications are made to the following: 

  • Unit commander
  • Area Commander and/or ranking Custody Division Duty Officer
  • The North County Correctional Facility for activation of the PDC EOC for incidents only involving the PDC
  • The Department Operations Center (DOC).

Refer to the Department Manual of Policy and Procedures, section 5-06/110.35, "Incident Commander," for additional policy relating to required notifications.