Policy Text
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW
2 01/24/2011 08/02/24
TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS
_____ _____________________
358 - Major Incident Notification 1 POLICY 358 MAJOR INCIDENT NOTIFICATION
358.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance to members of this department in determining
when, how and to whom notification of major incidents should be made.
358.1.1 ACCREDITATION STANDARDS
This policy pertains to the following CALEA Standards: 11.3.3 , 11.4.5, 12.1.2 , 41.2.4 , 81.2.4
This policy pertains to the following Standard Operating Procedures: N/A
358.2 POLICY
The department recognizes that certain incident s should be brought to the attention of
supervisors or other specified personnel of this department to facilitate the coordination of
activities and ensure that inquiries from the media and the public may be properly addressed.
358.3 MINIMUM CRITERIA FOR NOTIFICATION
The Watch Commander is responsible for notifying the Chief of Police or their designee , via the
chain of command, on all incidents where there may be a question as to the agency’s liability or
those that may result in a heightened community int erest. The Chief of Police, at his discretion,
will make notifications to the City Manager and the City Council.
Most situations where the media show a strong interest are also of interest to the Chief of Police
and the affected Bureau Commander. The fol lowing list of incident types is provided as a guide
for notification and is not intended to be all -inclusive:
a) Homicides ;
b) Traffic accidents with fatalities ;
c) Officer -involved shooting – on or off duty ( see Officer Involved Shooting Policy for special
notifications) ;
d) Significant injury or death to employee – on or off duty ;
e) Death of a prominent Tustin official ;
f) Arrest of department employee or prominent Tustin official ;
g) Aircraft crash with major damage and/or injury or death ;
h) In-custody deaths ;
i) Significant f ires, floods or other disasters ;
j) Multiple casualty incident ;
k) Any incident resulting in the extended deployment of multiple officers and significant
resources.
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW
2 01/24/2011 08/02/24
TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS
_____ _____________________
358 - Major Incident Notification 2 358.4 WATCH COMMANDER RESPONSIBILITY
The Watch Commander is responsible for making the appropri ate notifications and should make
reasonable attempts to obtain as much information on the incident as possible before notification.
The Watch Commander sh ould attempt to make the notifications as soon as practica ble.
All incidents requiring notificati ons should also be placed on the Watch Commander’s 24-hour
Log as soon as practical, but at least within six hours of the incident ’s closure .
358.4.1 DETECTIVE NOTIFICATION
If the incident requires that a detective respond, the immediate supervisor of th e appropriate
detail shall be contacted who will then contact the appropriate detective.
358.4.2 TRAFFIC UNIT NOTIFICATION
In the event of a traffic fatality or major injury accident which may result in a fatality , the Traffic
Sergeant shall be notified who will then contact the appropriate accident investigator. The Traffic
Sergeant will notify the City Operations Division Commander (staff notification will be handled as
outlined in §358.3) .
358.4.3 PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER (PIO)
The Public Information Officer (PIO) should be called after members of staff have been notified if
it appears the media may have a significant interest in the incident.