The 5 W's of IR Writing

  All involved parties should be noted in the involved parties’ section of the IR. This includes guests, residential students, and non-students. This section should NOT include responding RA(s), Graduate Hall/Coordinator, or SUPD Officers. Do not leave this section blank; write “Unknown” if the name and Student ID number are unknown.

ALL Incident Reports must be submitted immediately after the incident. Failure to submit IRs promptly greatly affects the University’s ability to respond to concerns. 

If you addressed an incident that requires the Grad’s presence, the RA and Grad on call are writing the report together jointly, either in person together or by emailing the Grad your part of the report.

Please write the narrative of the IR in 3^rd person. This helps create a clear story for those reading the IR. Instead of writing “I walked into his bedroom and spoke to them.” Write “Resident Assistant (RA) Oliver Queen walked into Resident Barry Allen’s bedroom and spoke with Resident Allen and Resident Malcolm Merlin about the noise policy.”

Keep opinions OUT and put facts and supporting evidence IN! Do not write “RA Carly Smith knew he was drunk,” write “RA Smith saw Resident Marlon Grey stumble in the hallway and when she approached Resident Grey, he had bloodshot eyes, was slurring his words, and smelled of alcohol.”

   When addressing incidents, please be sure to remain on the scene as a situation or concern is playing out so that you have all the information needed and can ensure that the problem is resolved. Walking away from the scene of an incident while it is in progress could result in parties involved leaving before being addressed.

The exception to this is if a Grad on-call or SPD asks you to step out or away. Responding RA’s names should be noted at the top of the IR form. Personal RA information like phone numbers and physical addresses should not be utilized- use the Office of Residential Life contact information. 

If SUPD is involved in an incident, please remember not to add too much detail to the IR regarding their interactions with the students, but you should provide general information outlining SUPD’s major actions taken. For example, you should write if SUPD conducted a search of a room but not where anything was found. You should note if SPD had a student sign a liability form after EMTs determined that transport was not necessary. You should note if an arrest was made or not. Remember, no cliffhanger IRs.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me or your direct supervisors.

Thank you and have a great day!