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Custody Operations Directives / 2026 Directives

26-002 Handling Non-Categorized Incidents


26-001 Video Review and Advisement RESCINDED 09.09.26
25-001 Collaboration Following Use of Force Incidents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CUSTODY DIRECTIVE: 26-002                                                            EFFECTIVE DATE: September 9, 2026

ISSUED FOR: CUSTODY OPERATIONS

HANDLING NON-CATEGORIZED INCIDENTS

PURPOSE

The purpose of this directive is to establish new procedures for low level use of force incidents where there is no injury or complaint of pain from the inmate. These types of incidents will be referred to as Non-Categorized Incidents (NCI). 

OVERVIEW

An NCI is any of the following uses of force:

  • Resisted hobble application;
  • Resisted searching and handcuffing techniques;
  • Resisted firm grip, control holds, come-alongs, or control techniques.
    • Examples include, but are not limited to, pushing/pulling a resistive inmate into a cell; pushing an advancing/hostile inmate away in order to create a safe distance; pushing/pulling an inmate who grabs onto a fixed object in order to avoid being handcuffed

When there is NO injury or complaint of pain from the inmate once the force incident has concluded, and there are no allegations of excessive force or misconduct.

PROCEDURES

Involved Employees’ Responsibilities

  • Follow current established use of force reporting procedures for notifications.
  • At the handling sergeant’s direction, only one of the involved employees shall write a force report documenting the incident, specifically identifying the inmate’s actions and the actions (if observed) of all involved personnel. The report should be written on the current Custody Division Deputy’s Use of Force Report Memorandum, unless an Incident Report (SH-R-49) is being written, which will document the actions of the involved employee(s) pertaining to the use of force.

Handling Sergeant’s Responsibilities

  • Ensure the inmate receives a documented medical evaluation as soon as practical.
  • Conduct an inquiry into the incident (speak to involved personnel, witness inmates, and non-employee witnesses).
  • Review recorded footage of the incident (if available).
  • Notify the watch commander of the incident and obtain their approval to handle the incident as an NCI.
  • Identify and direct an involved deputy or custody assistant to author a Deputy’s Use of Force Memorandum, if no criminal Incident Report (SH-R-49) is being written, which would document the use of force and any de-escalation efforts.
  • As only one involved employee shall be responsible for authoring a report, deputies and custody assistants should be advised to document the incident in their personal notebook. This documentation may assist in instances where the NCI is re-categorized and subsequent reports shall be required from all involved custody personnel.
  • Record the involved inmate(s) and non-sworn witness interviews (such as medical personnel, maintenance workers, mental health personnel, inmates who witnessed, etc.).
  • Complete the NCI Report (SH-J-438N).
  • Complete a Force Tracking (e-FORCE) entry and Preliminary Data Entry (PDE) for the incident.

Statistical code 506 shall be used for all NCI incidents. NCIs requiring an Incident Report (SH-R-49) shall include the corresponding criminal statistical code as part of the Uniform Reporting Number (URN) and 506 as a supplemental statistical code.

The sergeant handling the incident shall upload the completed NCI Report (SH-J-438N), Incident Report (SH-R-49), if applicable, Deputy’s Use of Force Memorandum, Use of Force Medical Report (SH-J-212F), and all related video documentation to the Division NCI Shared File (\\RSV-1TTCF-P1\TTCF_Sharedfiles). The hard copy of the NCI package should be submitted to the handling unit’s operations for processing. 

Sergeants who witness, plan, or direct the NCI use of force can conduct the inquiry and complete the NCI Report (SH-J-438N). In instances when a sergeant is an involved employee in the use of force, another sergeant shall be designated to complete the NCI Report (SH-J-438N) and package.

Refer to the Supervisor’s Non-Categorized Incident User’s Guide for further information on how to properly complete the form.

Watch Commander’s Responsibilities

  • Determine if the incident meets the criteria of an NCI
  • Interview the involved inmate using the same protocol outlined in Custody Division Manual (CDM) section 7-07/000.00, “Use of Force Review Procedures”
  • As soon as practical, review the completed suspect interview video to ensure:
  • The video recorder captured the interview
  • The inmate’s responses can be clearly heard
  • The inmate does not appear to have any visible signs of injury
  • The inmate has no complaint of pain
  • There are no other risk management issues.
  • In the event the inmate refuses to answer any questions regarding their injuries, an attempt shall be made to gain cooperation from him/her to video tape their head, upper torso, lower torso, extremities, and back to verify no injury occurred or exists.
  • Approve the incident as an NCI and allow the handling sergeant to proceed with the NCI reporting procedures.
  • If the watch commander believes the incident may pose any risk management issues related to the use of force, there is an allegation of misconduct, or the video reveals a material difference from custody personnel’s verbal account of the incident, the incident should be investigated as a categorized force incident using the appropriate Custody Operations Supervisor’s Report on Use of Force (SH-R-438CO) documentation.
  • Document the incident in the Watch Commanders’ Log

In the event the subject complains of pain or has a visible injury at a later date (via Inmate Request/Grievance, Doctor’s Line, or any other methods of communication), the NCI may be upgraded to a categorized use of force. The appropriate Custody Operations Supervisor’s Report on Use of Force (SH-R-438CO) documentation shall be completed. All previously obtained NCI documentation and video recordings shall be included with the categorized force investigation packet.

Unit Commander Responsibilities

The unit commander shall be responsible for maintaining a computerized shared folder for storing and tracking all documentation/videos recordings related to an NCI occurring within their unit. The computerized shared folder should be organized by year, and calendar month to allow for efficient retrieval in the event the NCI becomes a categorized use of force.

At the completion of the unit level investigation, the unit commander shall ensure that the NCI documentation displays a “contents noted” stamp with their signature before sending it to the Discovery Unit. 

Questions regarding this directive should be directed to the Custody Training and Standards Bureau’s (CTSB) Custody Force Response Team (CFRT) [REDACTED TEXT] or the “CTSB-CFRT Sergeants” e-mail group.