NSA CJO cheat sheet

Intake booking sequence: search, identify, photograph, fingerprint, medical/mental-health screening, property inventory, classification, housing assignment, and rights notification.

Classification separates detainees by security risk, criminal history, escape potential, and special-management needs; classification is reviewed at defined intervals, not set permanently at booking.

A pretrial detainee is held on pending charges and retains the presumption of innocence; a convicted inmate is serving a sentence. Conditions of confinement for pretrial detainees are judged under an objective-reasonableness standard.

Use-of-force decision rules: force must be necessary, proportional to the threat, applied only to achieve a legitimate correctional objective, and documented immediately with a supervisor review.

Count procedures: formal counts at fixed times, irregular counts at random intervals, and recount on any discrepancy before the facility is declared secure.

Contraband search levels: pat-down, strip search, and body-cavity search. Strip and cavity searches require individualized reasonable suspicion and same-sex personnel absent exigency.

Key and tool control: signed issue and return logs, no unaccounted keys, and tool inventories reconciled at shift change.

Emergency plans cover fire, riot, escape, hostage, medical, and natural-disaster scenarios; each requires a designated incident commander and a documented after-action review.

Supervision ratios and rounds: direct-supervision posts require documented rounds at intervals set by policy; irregular timing prevents pattern prediction.

Suicide-risk indicators include prior attempts, current ideation, recent loss, withdrawal, and intoxication; any positive screen triggers heightened observation and removal of ligature and sharp items.

Duty-to-protect rule: staff must act on known or reasonably foreseeable risks of harm, including inmate-on-inmate violence and medical emergencies.

Segregation and restrictive housing require documented justification, periodic review, out-of-cell time, and mental-health monitoring.

Use-of-force reporting: each incident produces a written report, medical assessment of the subject, supervisor review, and administrative review of policy compliance.

Grievance systems must be accessible, logged, time-stamped, and subject to appeal; retaliation for filing a grievance is prohibited.

Medication administration requires positive identification, direct observation of ingestion, and documentation of refusals and side effects.

Sexual-abuse prevention includes staff training, detainee orientation, reporting channels, and investigation independent of the alleged abuser's chain of command.

Section 1983 liability requires action under color of law that deprives a person of a federal right; respondeat superior does not apply, so supervisory liability needs personal involvement or deliberate indifference.

Deliberate indifference to serious medical needs violates the Eighth Amendment for convicted inmates; pretrial detainees are analyzed under the Fourteenth Amendment's objective-reasonableness standard.

Qualified immunity shields officials from civil damages unless the violated right was clearly established at the time of the conduct.

Fourth Amendment limits on searches and seizures apply to detainees and visitors; reasonable-suspicion standards govern strip searches in many jurisdictions.

First Amendment protections for inmates are limited by legitimate penological interests, including mail, religion, and access to courts.

Due process in disciplinary proceedings: written notice of charges, time to prepare, an impartial hearing body, the chance to call witnesses and present evidence when safety permits, and a written statement of findings.

Use-of-force legal standard: force violates the Eighth Amendment only if applied maliciously and sadistically to cause harm, not in a good-faith effort to maintain order.

Records retention and confidentiality: medical and mental-health records are protected; disclosure follows facility policy and applicable privacy law.

Chain of command: line staff report to shift supervisors, who report to watch commanders, who report to the facility administrator; directives flow downward and reports flow upward.

Report writing standards: factual, chronological, complete, objective, and free of conclusions; include who, what, when, where, how, and names of witnesses.

Shift briefing covers roster and post assignments, count status, special watches, recent incidents, equipment issues, and pending transports.

Personnel records include training, certifications, disciplinary actions, and performance evaluations; access is restricted and retention periods follow policy.

Staff misconduct investigations use a documented process with notice, interview, evidence preservation, and a written finding subject to appeal.

Mandatory training typically covers first aid and CPR, defensive tactics, use of force, suicide prevention, sexual-abuse prevention, and emergency procedures.

Budget and resource requests require justification tied to staffing levels, overtime, equipment replacement, and compliance obligations.

Confidential informant handling requires documented source reliability, controlled contact, and protection of identity consistent with legal disclosure duties.