1. It is the intent of this policy to provide procedure to safely and effectively resolve hostage situations and to minimize risk of injury to staff, youth, and visitors.
   1. The Probation Department has a “no hostage” policy and will not negotiate or bargain with those who are holding hostages in the Juvenile Hall.
   2. The Probation Department will do everything reasonable to resolve a hostage situation without injury to anyone.
2. Staff encountering a hostage situation is/are to immediately report the situation to the Incident Commander before taking any action. 
3. Immediate Action
   1. In the event that staff determines that hostages have been taken and are under immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury, they may take immediate action to assist the hostages.
   2. This action may involve the use of force pursuant to Section C. 1 of the Use of Force Policy.
   3. This action shall take place only after an initial assessment including:
      1. the nature of the incident;
      2. the presence of weapons;
      3. the level of training and experience of the officer’s present, and the availability of necessary equipment;
      4. The likelihood that the officers themselves may become hostages.
4. Initial Response:  Once notified, the Incident Commander shall be responsible for the following:
   1. Ensure that the location of the hostage(s) is isolated from the rest of the facility, including moving all uninvolved youth and non-sworn staff as far away from the scene as reasonable.
   2.  Direct that all uninvolved youth are secured in sleeping and/or visiting rooms.
   3.  Have all visitors and volunteers escorted to the public lobby and directed to not leave until released.
   4. Assign a staff member to begin a written log of all activities related to the emergency.
   5. Conduct a count of the uninvolved youth, and identify those youth who are directly involved with the taking of hostage(s).
   6. Attempt to determine whether or not the involved youth have possession of or access to weapons.
   7. Make verbal contact with the involved youth and direct them to release the hostage(s).
   8. In the event the hostage(s) are not released, contact the Sheriff’s Department and request they respond to the facility immediately.
5. Facility Access
   1. The Control JSO shall not allow anyone in or out of the facility with the following exception:  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 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).
6. Staff Communication
   1. In the event of a hostage situation, 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.
7. Notification: The on-call Supervising Deputy Probation Officer, Chief Deputy of the Custody Division and the Chief Probation Officer shall be contacted immediately.
8. Jurisdictional Authority.  The Probation Department shall retain jurisdictional authority and control of the facility throughout the incident.