E.08.07.R1 Incident Notification Details and Standards

Requirement

• All major incidents as per lists below, are reported through the incident phone number to an Operations Advisor in National Office as soon as practicable.

Major Incident Reporting

Major incidents that require immediate notification through the incident phone:

• Death in Custody – Assumed not natural causes
• Death in Custody – Assumed natural causes
• Incident involving the taking of hostages
• Riot(s)
• Natural Disaster or major structural damage to prison buildings resulting in loss of life to staff or prisoners
• Assault by staff on prisoner
• Assault by staff on other person (not prisoner)
• Escape involving maximum security or high profile prisoner
• Call out of emergency services (Fire Service, Civil Defence, Police)

• Any incident involving staff that may result in an employment issue; Criminal Offence by staff (other than assault) while on duty and Misconduct by staff while on duty.
• Any other incident which the Regional Manager / Prison Manager believes is of a nature that either the Minister, Chief Executive or General Manager Prisons Service needs to know about immediately.

Incident Details Required

• Name of prison
• Brief summary of incident
• Date and time of incident
• Full names and PRN of all prisoners involved in incident

Additional Information

Additional prisoner information required on prisoners outside the hours Monday to Friday 8.00am - 5.00pm.

• Sentence Commencement Date (SCD)
• Parole Eligibility Date (PED)
• Final Release Date (FRD)
• Security rating
• Sentence
• Offences
• Gender & Age
• Ethnic origin
• Date of Birth (D.O.B)
• VNR
• Any gang affiliation

 All Other Incidents Reporting

All other internal (Prison) incidents to be reported by IOMS report (apart from staff related incidents) within 2 hours of incident (if within office hours) or by 10am the next business day (if outside office hours). IOMS summary to be completed by 12 midday.

Prisoner Related

• All other escapes including breakouts and walkaways
• Attempted escape
• Self Harm - threat to life
• Self Harm - no threat to life
• Assault by prisoner on prisoner
• Assault by prisoner on staff member / visitor
• Hospitalisation of prisoner or outside medical attention
• Criminal offence by prisoner (if not in another category)
• Wrongful release from custody
• Wrongful detention
• Voluntary Refusing Food (Hunger-strike) (after specified period)
• Accident to a prisoner
• Event while on temporary release (including breach)
• Event while on escorted outing
• Event involving prisoners while in care of Police (if known)
• Use of Control and Restraint
• Disorder including collective non co-operation e.g. sit downs

Security Related

• Breach of custodial security, including intruders
• Event external to prison which threatens or has potential to threaten prison security
• Communication or system failure (excluding IOMS which is to be logged with help desk)
• Finding of illicit drugs on prison property
• Any other event not listed with a potential for official notification

Staff Related

• Accident to staff member while on duty

Incidents Involving Serious Harm

All incidents involving Serious Harm are reported to the Occupational Health and Safety Office of the Department of Labour within seven working days.

Incidents involving serious harm, as defined in Schedule 1 of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 are:

1. Any of the following conditions that amounts to or results in permanent loss of bodily function, or temporary severe loss of bodily function:
   • respiratory disease
   • noise induced hearing loss
   • neurological disease
   • cancer
   • dermatological disease
   • communicable disease
   • musculoskeletal disease
   • decompression sickness
   • illness cause by exposure to infected material
   • poisoning
   • vision impairment
   • chemical or hot metal burn of eye
   • penetrating wound of eye
   • bone fracture
   • laceration
   • crushing
2. Amputation of body part
3. Burns requiring referral to a specialist registered medical practitioner or specialist outpatient clinic
4. Loss of consciousness from lack of oxygen
5. Loss of consciousness, or acute illness, requiring treatment by a registered medical practitioner, from absorption, inhalation, or ingestion of any substance
6. Any harm that causes the person harmed to be hospitalised for a period of 48 hours or more commencing within 7 days of the harm's occurrence.

Notification to the Police

• Police are notified of any escapes, deaths, including suicide and assaults in which charges are to be or could be laid.

Roles and responsibilities

Prison Manager

Responsible for:

• monitoring and ensuring compliance in the management of all aspects of incident notification.
• ensuring that notification summary on IOMS is signed off, in the required time frame to the appropriate agencies, National Office, as per Major Incident Reporting above and as listed in PPM Section E.08.05 Section 4 Reporting time codes.
• ensuring that Police are notified of escapes, deaths including suicides, and assaults in which charges are to be or could be laid.

Unit Manager / On-Call Manager

Responsible for:

• signing off components of incident on IOMS.
• ensuring that Prison Manager is notified of all incidents requiring notification to National Office.

PCO

Responsible for ensuring that:

• Unit Managers are informed of all incidents requiring notification.
• all appropriate reports are placed on IOMS.
• all appropriate forms are completed correctly.
• debriefing staff are available for staff post incident.
• all notification to Health and Safety has been completed and the appropriate forms filled out.

SCO / CO / CIE Instructors / Corrections Services

• Responsible to accommodation PCOs for ensuring that all incidents are notified, that Managers for CIE and Interventions Services are also notified in the event an incident occurs in industry or education areas.
• In the event of a PCO or Unit Manager not being available to be notified of an incident, staff will report directly to the Prison Manager.