1.1 Purpose
The purpose of this system is to:
- Detail the categories of incidents, which must be notified so that the Minister and Chief Executive have no surprises.
- Provide definitions of incidents to be notified.
- Outline the procedures and timeframes for notifying incidents.
- Detail the forms to be used for notifying incidents.
1.2 What is an incident?
The term incident refers to any event involving one or more of the following criteria:
- An offender, staff member, or other person, in the course of any Community Probation & Psychological Services (CPPS) controlled activity, is killed or dies, requires hospitalisation, or other immediate medical attention.
- Serious reoffending where an offender is charged with, convicted or suspected, of a serious offence while on, or within 12 months of completing, a sentence/order with CPPS.
- There is a serious risk to the security and safety of CPPS staff and/or offenders.
- The event might lead to an inquiry by Internal Audit, the Inspectors of Corrections, the police, or any other agency, such as the Ombudsman.
- The event might attract media attention.
- The event might lead to public criticism of the Minister or Department.
1.3 Purpose of reporting incidents
Incidents are notified for the following reasons:
- To keep the Minister, the Chief Executive and the CPPS General Manager informed of incidents involving offenders that might affect public safety or public concerns about their safety, the integrity of sentences, or the welfare and safety of CPPS staff and/or offenders.
- To provide Internal Audit and the Inspectors of Corrections with reports that help the follow-up of incidents and with assessing the risks facing the Department.
- To enable the CPPS General Manager and/or the Chief Executive to decide and direct what needs to be done in response to particular incidents.
- To provide statistical data to identify where remedial or improvement action is needed.
1.4 In this system
This system contains the following topics:
- Overview
- Notifiable Incident categories for all offender related incidents in Community Probation & Psychological Services
- Notifiable Incident categories for all staff related incidents in the Community Probation & Psychological Services
- Notifiable emergency and non-specific incident categories for incidents in the Community Probation & Psychological Services
- Reporting requirements
- Appendix
