ACPL Safety TrainingIncident Reports

September 2013

Learning Objectives

By the end of this training session, you will be able to:• Locate and fill out the incident report correctly• Decide when to fill out an incident report• List who should fill out an incident report• Choose the best words and phrases when writing an incident

report• Explain why it is a good idea to write a brief description of the

incident before opening the Incident Report Form• State the source of information which should be a guide when

writing incident reports

INCIDENT REPORTSBasics to know about incident reports

When should I fill out an Incident Report?

For violations of the Code of Conduct

Accidents on library property

When in doubt, fill it out

Why is it important to submit an incident report?

Correct personnel

Builds a case

Preventative measure

Permanent record

Each staff member involved should file his/her OWN report

Supplementary reports

Different perspective

Coworkers file report

Make your report a good one!

Poorly written? Thrown together?

Review and edit!

Incident Reports may become evidence in court cases.

Tone Grammar & Spelling

Discriminatory Casual

What do I do immediately after the incident?

INCIDENT REPORTSHow to fill out an incident report

Before Using the Incident Report Form

WordPad• Grammar & spell

check• Refine report

Incident Report on Insite

Fill in all boxes marked with *

Name

E-mail

Date

Location

Outside agency

Brief description of incident

Persons involved

Continue/Submit

Description of person

Description of person

Incident report complete

Confirmation e-mail

INCIDENT REPORTSWriting an incident report well

Characteristics of a Well-Written Report

Accurate

Specific

Factual

ObjectiveClear

Complete

Concise

A Good Report is Accurate

Spell check your report.

Double check dates, times, names, etc.

Proof, proof, proof! You might see a problem that you missed.

A Good Report is Specific

DO NOT censor or edit out profanity

This is an important record of the event

It needs to be as accurate as possible

A Good Report is SpecificIncident report guide

Violation?

Which articles

violated?

Code of Conduct

A Good Report is Factual

A fact is something real that can either

be proved or disproved.

An opinion is a belief and may or may not

be appropriate to include in your report.

A Good Report Is Objective

Fair and impartial

Not influenced by emotion or opinion

Use quotes when you include statements from witnesses

When describing persons involved never use

verbiage that can be considered derogatory

For example, do not write“The poorly dressed, tall, skinny, bald, old, white

guy.” (Save this type of information for page 2)

A Good Report Is Objective

A Good Report Is Complete

Complete report

Who

What

Where

When

Why

How

A Good Report Is Complete

Leaves no unanswered questions

Amount of detail depends on the incident

If it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen

A Good Report Is Concise

Use words economically

Omit words that do not add value

Free of excessive wordiness

A Good Report Is Well-Organized

Poorly organized reports are confusing.

Chronological order works best.

Don’t begin relating one incident, and

continue with another report from a

previous incident.

A Good Report is ClearEasily

understood

No ambiguities

Provide specific details

No vague references CLEAR

A Good Report is Grammatically Correct

Errors can affect the clarity and

accuracy of the report.

Errors make you look less

professional.

GOOD REPORT

A Good Report is Light on Abbreviations

Some abbreviations

acceptable

Using too many or using them

inappropriately detracts from your

report

QUESTIONS?Information for all safety training has been provided by John Hidy, Security Services Manager, Allen County Public Library.

For more information or if you have questions, contact John Hidy, x1281or e-mail jhidy@acpl.lib.in.us