3.13 Escapes

Chapter 3
Section 3.13
Subject 3.13 Escapes
Effective Date 5/15/2023 12:00 AM
  1. Probation Department personnel shall make every reasonable effort to prevent youth(s) from escaping.
  2. Suspected Escape- Initial Response.
    •  When a youth(s) is suspected to have escaped, the highest ranking officer in the building will act as the Incident Commander until relieved by a higher ranking officer.  The Incident Commander shall:
    1. Immediately direct staff to secure all youth in their rooms and conduct a facility count per the count policy.  The youth shall not be allowed out of their rooms until the facility is deemed to be secure by the Incident Commander.  
    2. Notify the Control JSO to not allow anyone in or out of the facility unless authorized by the Incident Commander.
    3. In the event that the facility count indicates that a youth(s) is missing, Incident Commander shall conduct a thorough search of the entire facility.
  3. Confirmed Escape-Initial Response
    1. Once it has been confirmed that a youth(s) has escaped, the Incident Commander shall notify the Sheriff’s Department Dispatcher of the escape, pursuant to section 1155 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. This notification shall include the following:
      1. A detailed physical description, including clothing and photograph of the escapee.
      2. Last time and place the escapee was seen and, if known, the direction of travel.
      3. Method of escape and weapon used if any.
      4. Escapee’s last known home address.
      5. Any relevant information within the escapee’s records.
    2.  A secondary search of the facility shall then be conducted. This secondary search shall include a thorough assessment of all exits and openings to ensure that, in the event an exit point has been breached, it is made secure prior to youth being allowed out of their rooms.
    3. The Incident Commander shall coordinate the community search and the issuance of a BOL.
    4. The on-duty Control JSO shall record a detailed chronology of all notifications related to the escape.
    5. The Incident Commander shall collect and provide preliminary incident reports from all on-duty staff involved in or having knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the escape or suspected escape. 
  4. Facility Access
    1. The Control JSO shall not allow anyone in or out of the facility with the following exceptions:  medical, fire, law enforcement, Probation Department personnel, etc., specifically responding to the facility in an official capacity in regards to the emergency.
    2. The Control JSO shall not share any details regarding the emergency to any incoming callers who are not directly involved with responding to the emergency in an official capacity (i.e. medical, fire, law enforcement, Probation Department personnel).
  5. Staff Communication
    1. In the event of an escape, staff shall not communicate any information pertaining to this incident to any individual(s) beyond those staff members on duty at the time of the incident. This includes, but is not limited to, phone calls, e-mails, or any other social media.
  6. Notifications
    1. Once an escape has been determined, the Incident Commander shall immediately notify the on-call Supervising Deputy Probation Officer, Chief Deputy Probation Officer of the Custody Division, and Chief Probation Officer.