5.5 Communication & Incident Reporting

Duty Communication

As a Resident Assistant responding to crises and critical incidents, there are a number of support resources available to you. During or after higher-level incidents, it is important to share information with the Resident Director On Duty. The RD On Duty should be contacted for medical transports, mental health concerns, any situations involving violence or the threat of violence, when substances need to be confiscated, bias incidents, sexual assaults, or at any time you are unsure what to do to address and resolve a situation.

Always contact the RD On Duty first by calling the RD On Duty phone or by radio, keeping in mind that confidential or sensitive information should be shared via cell phone only. If you are unable to get a hold of the RD On Duty through the duty phone call the RD On Duty's home phone or personal cell phone - both are programmed into the duty phones. Failing that, contact another Resident Director.

After explaining the situation, the RD will provide further instructions to you.  It is important to follow the directions of the RD and understand your role as a vital support person during emergency and high level situations.

Incident Reporting

Incident reporting serves numerous purposes:

  • Informs those who need to know important information about residents and the community
  • Summarizes and evaluates community activity so that professional staff members are able to understand what is happening in your halls and help you better plan and problem solve
  • Allows RAD to provide better service, support and assistance to students
Types of Reports

You are expected to share information with professional staff and your fellow RAs through the following forums:

  1. Weekly Reports: Weekly reports are due each week to your Resident Director.  In addition to summarizing community development progress, the report provides an opportunity to share issues and concerns for specific residents for your area.
  2. Incident Reports: There are many situations you will encounter as a Resident Assistant that will require special documentation, including any emergencies, policy violations, illnesses, behavior problems or any situation that may require follow-up and/or action.  You are expected to complete an Incident Report immediately following the incident.
Writing Incident Reports

Incident Reports should be completed immediately after a situation has been addressed to ensure accuracy.  Documentation is of central importance in performing your role.  Properly completed incident reports add to its credibility and allow for quick follow-up by the Resident Director or other staff.  The guidelines below offer some pointers as a framework for documenting incident reports.  Documented incidents would include violations of College policy, significant events that impact the community, and violations of state or local law.

To write an Incident Report, please do the following:

  1. Log into the Incident Report database
  2. Click 'Add IR' on the second blue tab at the top of the page
  3. Search for the student involved.  You can search by name, A number or room number.
  4. Select the name from your search results and click "Add Student(s) to IR."  If multiple students are involved, complete another search and add them to the IR.
  5. When you have finished your search, click "I'm done adding people" at the bottom of the screen.  Please submit only if you are finished adding names; once submitted you cannot add additional students.
  6. You will now be taken to a new page.  By the student(s)' names, click the green button that reads "Add/Edit Violations." Select the policy violation or situation that best describes the incident based on the behaviors you observed.  You must do this for each person listed.
  7. Fill out the location of the incident and the date and time it occurred
  8. Then write a detailed description of the incident.  See Expectations below for more guidance.
  9. Submit the incident report by pressing "Add Incident."

Expectations for Incident Reporting

  • Write the report in the third person, referring to yourself as RA1/2 (insert last name).
  • Use last names to refer to people instead of gender pronouns whenever possible. If you need to use a pronoun and do not know the student's preferred pronoun, default to using "they/their."
  • Write objectively. Refrain from using subjective language or emotion. Your Incident Report should capture only the facts about what you observed and refrain from stating assertions or making assumptions. For example, write "RA1 (insert last name) was called to Apartment H210 for a noise complaint" not "I was woken up at 3 a.m. again for a stupid noise complaint in H450."
  • However, you should note if the resident was cooperative or uncooperative. For example, "Resident Raffaella Sabina was cooperative throughout the interaction" or "Raffaella Sabina refused to turn down the stereo and swore frequently at the RAs on duty."
  • Use detail. Detail helps the conduct officer ascertain important information and have a better conversation with the resident about the situation. For example, "RA1 (insert last name) could hear music coming from the open window on the fourth floor of building H as RA1 approached the building" not "The music was loud."
  • Write chronologically when possible. Try to sequence the event the best you can. This may be challenging for some situations that involve many people or are complex in nature. For example, "Dispatch called RA1 at 3:15 a.m. for a noise complaint in H450. RA1 approached H-building at 3:18 a.m. and could hear music coming from the open window on the fourth floor. RA1 knocked on H450 and resident Raffaella Sabina answered the door. RA1 informed Sabina of the community quiet hour policy and asked Sabina to turn down the music. Sabina cooperated and apologized. RA1 then left the apartment after saying goodnight" not "I went over to the apartment and told her to turn it down. Dispatch called around 3:15 a.m. and I responded right away. Raffaella turned down her music."
  • Include information about other services involved. It is helpful to have information about what time medical assistance or Police Services arrived. When possible, include what officer was involved. This can be helpful when the conduct officer needs to follow up for more detail or information.
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