Incident Reporting

Office of School Safety Incident Report

1. What types of incidents require my school district, intermediate school district (ISD), or public school academy to submit an incident report?
   Incidents include, but are not limited to, the commission, or attempted commission, of the following:


1. Physical assault or other crime involving physical violence
2. Criminal sexual conduct
3. Illegal possession of controlled substances or alcohol 
4. Violations of the youth tobacco act
5. Trespassing
6. Vandalism
7. Arson
8. Larceny (theft)
9. Armed robbery
10. Unarmed robbery
11. Extortion<
12. Gang-related activity
13. Other crimes


2. Are incident reports only necessary for incidents that occur at school?
   For incident reports, “At school means in a classroom, elsewhere on school premises, on a school bus or other school-related vehicle, or at a school-sponsored activity or event whether or not it is held on school premises.”


3. If I submit an incident report to the Office of School Safety, do I still need to file a report with local law enforcement?
   You must follow your school’s policy to report incidents to law enforcement prior to submitting an incident report.  The incident report is required for statistical tracking only.


4. What is the timeframe for a school district, ISD, or public school academy to submit an incident report??
   An incident report must be filed within 24 hours after the incident occurs, or within 24 hours of school personnel being made aware that an incident had occurred.


5. If the incident happened after school hours, do I still need to submit an incident report??
   Yes, an incident report must be submitted regardless of the time of day or whether school is in session.


6. Is the incident report subject to the Freedom of Information Act??
   Incident reports are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, 1976 Public Act 442.


7. What if we do not know the exact funds needed to repair the vandalism or destruction of school property??
   Provide an estimate of the cost to the school district, ISD, or public school academy resulting from the incident.


8. What happens to the information collected in the incident report??
   The Office of School Safety provides a report of the aggregate data to the School Safety Commission quarterly, and appropriate law enforcement agencies upon request.


9. Are there consequences if my school fails to submit an incident report??
   Yes, the Michigan State Police (MSP) may determine that the school district, ISD, or public school academy is ineligible to receive any school safety grants from the MSP for the fiscal year in which the noncompliance is discovered.


10. Are nonpublic schools required to submit incident reports??
    No, nonpublic schools are not mandated to submit incident reports.


11. Why do schools need to submit incident reports??
    The incident reports: 
• Help policy makers and program designers develop appropriate prevention and intervention programs.
• Provide the continuous assessment tools needed for revising and refining school safety programs.
• Assist schools and school districts to identify the most pressing safety issues confronting their school communities, to direct resources appropriately.
• Foster the creation of partnerships among schools, school districts, state agencies, community stakeholders, and local law enforcement to prevent further crime and violence and to ensure a safer environment for learning and working.