NCJ Number
210665
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 67 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2005 Pages: 60-61,64
Date Published
July 2005
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Emergency Action Center and its reporting and management of critical incidents and events affecting correctional settings.
Abstract
Critical incidents are inherent in the correctional setting. How quickly the right personnel are notified and action is taken is critical to successfully controlling a situation and protecting the safety of the public, staff, and offenders. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) created the Emergency Action Center (EAC) to assist in minimizing risks associated with serious and unusual incidents through the sharing of crucial information. The EAC is an information management process disseminating essential information by maintaining a 24-hour communication link to essential State and Federal agencies, in an effective and timely manner, providing real-time reporting of what is occurring at secure facilities. This article describes the reporting requirements of incidents to the EAC, the incidents that are reportable to the EAC, and the generating of incident reports to select agency administrators by the EAC and the monitoring of incidents. In addition, the EAC is also responsible for monitoring the weather during major weather events, such as hurricanes. In existence for 22 years, the EAC has provided central reporting contact for critical incidents.