Performing Headcount with Command Cloud

Conducting routine headcounts is more than a procedural requirement—they are among the most vital safety and security procedures in any correctional facility. Headcounts confirm that every inmate is accounted for and help ensure:

1. Care, Custody, and Control

Accurately accounting for every inmate ensures the facility can uphold its responsibilities for care, custody, and control by:

• Ensuring inmate and staff safety: Consistent, accurate headcounts minimize the risk of unexplained absences or irregularities that may signal escapes, medical emergencies, altercations, or other safety concerns.
• Managing inmate population: Keeping a precise track of every individual in the facility ensures inmates remain in their assigned locations and helps staff recognize when overcrowding may pose a risk.
• Improving emergency readiness: Access to total headcount numbers is essential during emergencies—such as fires, lockdowns, or evacuations—verifying every individual is accounted for, and no one is left behind.

When inmates are unaccounted for or found in unexpected locations, the safety of the facility, its staff, and the inmates themselves is compromised. This is why routine headcounts act as a proactive measure that prevents emergencies, upholds order, and safeguards everyone within the facility.

2. Regulatory Compliance

Conducting inmate headcount is a regulatory requirement in nearly every U.S. state. Not only do headcounts provide the confidence that all inmates are accounted for, but they also ensure the facility remains in compliance with these established standards.

As equally important as conducting headcounts is the documentation captured along with them. Records that provide proof of officer presence, demonstrate due diligence, and verify that the facility is maintaining secure custody of every inmate can serve as essential evidence of compliance during audits, inspections, or investigations.

3. Staff Awareness and Accountability

Conducting headcounts significantly enhances both situational awareness and accountability among correctional officers. By actively verifying the location and status of inmates, officers maintain a clear understanding of who is where, making it easier to detect issues such as missing individuals, unauthorized movement, or other safety and security concerns.

Because headcounts are often required by state standards, most agencies mandate that the officers who conduct headcounts are also responsible for documenting when and where they occurred, as well as the observations made. Capturing accurate records demonstrates regulatory compliance, helps reduce liability for both the facility and staff, and reinforces a culture of officer responsibility and compliance.

Correctional officers typically perform three main types of headcounts: informal, formal, and two-person formal headcounts. While they all serve the purpose of maintaining safety and accountability, they differ in the level of detail and the way they are conducted:

An informal headcount is a quick, on-the-spot count conducted at the officer’s discretion. It involves simply physically counting inmates’ heads in a given area, verifying if the expected number of inmates matches the count.

Although less detailed than a formal count, informal headcounts play an important role in maintaining continuous awareness of inmate movement. They allow officers to quickly confirm that no one is missing or out of place, which helps prevent small issues from escalating into larger security concerns.

A formal headcount is far more detailed and structured than an informal one, as it is considered a cornerstone of correctional facility security practices. In this process, officers not only physically count each inmate but also verify their identity by visually matching faces to their identification, such as a wristband or ID card. In contrast to the ad hoc approach of informal headcounts, formal headcounts may follow a predetermined schedule or frequency.

Establishing fixed times to conduct formal headcounts is typically due to facilities often being required by policy to conduct headcounts at specific intervals, such as morning, mid-day, evening, and overnight. However, following a set schedule also helps officers align with other daily occurrences, such as meals, movements, and shift changes, to maintain order and efficiency. This thorough approach ensures every inmate is accounted for in their designated location at a specific point in time, minimizing the risk of misidentification and providing a documented record of accountability.

A two-person formal headcount is similar to a standard formal headcount, with the only difference being that it requires two correctional officers conducting separate headcounts. This practice has become increasingly common nationwide as many states now follow a mandate requiring dual verification during headcount procedures.

Why? The presence of two officers is twice the defensibility, twice the error reduction, twice the accountability, and twice the overall security for everyone within the facility.

Command Cloud utilizes two key components for managing headcount: the Headcount module and the Headcount dashboard. The two work in tandem for a seamless headcount process, from how staff are alerted to start their headcount to how the captured data is stored and accessible for later use.

The Headcount module operates within Mobile Command XR, Command Cloud’s mobile inmate tracking solution. By using this module, officers can document headcounts in real time while also viewing comprehensive lists outlining which particular inmates should be assigned to a specific area.

Because the module is fully integrated with Command Cloud, inmate movements are automatically updated across the system. If an inmate is moved to medical, recreation, court, or any other location, that change is visible to staff conducting the count via their Mobile Command XR screen. If an inmate is not where they are expected to be, officers can quickly mark them as unaccounted for and, if necessary, add a justification that clarifies their absence.

Since Mobile Command XR is housed on SPARTAN, staff can access the Headcount module straight from their device, on the go. This gives staff real-time awareness and enables them to complete headcounts more accurately at the point of responsibility from anywhere in the facility.

The Headcount dashboard, native to Command Cloud’s Mission Command platform, enables empowered users to start formal headcounts, monitor the progress of active ones in real time, and review and export data from both formal and informal headcounts.

By navigating to Headcounts on the left-hand command pillar in Mission Command, users get a clear overview of statistics across facility locations. Each entry highlights key details such as the total number of inmates, gender breakdown (male, female, unknown), and whether they are marked as In or Out of their cell.

At the top of the dashboard, three clickable boxes allow users to toggle back and forth between different reports, including Active Formal Headcount, Completed Formal Headcount, and Completed Informal Headcount. There is also a toggle to support Two-Person Formal Headcounts, which can be turned on before starting a headcount simply by clicking it.

By leveraging both Command Cloud’s Headcount module and dashboard, officers gain a unified platform that streamlines the headcount process, no matter where they are in the facility. However, while these tools support the completion and documentation of both informal and formal headcounts, it’s important to note that the process differs.

To start conducting a formal headcount or a two-person formal headcount in Command Cloud, an empowered user would navigate to the Headcount dashboard and:

• Toggle on the Two-Person Headcount feature if your facility requires them
• Click the Select Location dropdown and select the desired location where the headcount will begin
• Press the red Start button

After the system administrator presses Start, a new view appears showing two sets of data: the Unaccounted Inmates List and the Headcount dashboard.

• The Unaccounted Inmates List highlights each inmate’s name, gender, current location, and home location. This enables users to track headcounts in real time and quickly identify any missing inmates.
• The Headcount dashboard displays information for the location(s) where the headcount is active. This includes the location, total number of inmates, breakdown by gender, the number of inmates are In and Out of their cells, how many have been accounted for, the types of scans completed, and the last updated time. When completing a two-person formal headcount, the Accounted and Accounted #2 columns appear to ensure every inmate is counted by both officers and to identify any inmates who still need to be counted a second time.

Once the formal headcount is initiated in Mission Command, an alert is sent to Mobile Command XR on each officer’s SPARTAN. After receiving the headcount alert, officers complete the headcount by following these steps:

1. Navigate to the Headcount module in Mobile Command XR.
2. Scan your location tag to display the list of inmates assigned to that location.
3. Scan inmate IDs to automatically mark them as present, or manually swipe right to mark them as present.
4. If an inmate is not present, swipe left to mark them as Not Present, move them by selecting the appropriate location block, and provide a justification by using talk-to-text or typing a custom note, to clarify why they are not present for headcount.
5. Swipe to SAVE. All updates will automatically sync and appear in Mission Command.

Once all inmates are accounted for, the headcount administrator selects Finish to end the headcount in Mission Command.

Can I cancel a formal headcount if needed?

Yes, a formal headcount can be cancelled in Mission Command. Whether it was started by mistake or the Two-Person Headcount feature was not toggled on yet, an empowered user can press the Cancel button to end it early. Cancelled headcounts will still appear in the Headcount dashboard’s Completed Formal Headcount report, but will be marked as Cancelled under the Status column to clearly indicate that it was not completed.

What happens if a headcount is “finished” but not every inmate has been accounted for?

When a headcount is “finished,” and there are inmates who have not been accounted for, the authorized user must enter a justification for each unaccounted inmate detailing why they were not there. For example, if an inmate is at court during a headcount, the user will need to note that as the justification.

Officers first start by either scanning a location RFID Tag with their SPARTAN or manually filtering to the location in the Headcount module in Mobile Command XR; both avenues will bring up the full list of inmates assigned to that area. Officers can then either visually confirm each inmate listed and swipe right to mark them as Present, or, if the facility requires it, scan each inmate’s ID to mark them as present.

Any inmate who is not present during the headcount must be marked as Not Present, and officers are required to move them by selecting the appropriate location block and providing a justification by using talk-to-text or typing a custom note to clarify why they are not present for headcount.

No, you do not need to scan a Hard Tag to perform headcount; however, it is the preferred method. There are other ways to perform a headcount (both formal and informal) without scanning a Hard Tag to start, including:

1. No Scan: Officers can open the Headcount module in Mobile Command XR and select POPULATION to pull up a complete list of inmates assigned to that location. From there, they can swipe right for PRESENT or left for NOT PRESENT without scanning physical IDs. These entries will appear as “No Scan” in Mission Command.
2. ID Scan: Officers can open the Headcount module in Mobile Command XR, select POPULATION to pull up a complete list of inmates assigned to that location, and scan each inmate’s ID to mark them as PRESENT. These will appear as an “ID Scan” in Mission Command.
3. Ad Hoc ID Scan: Officers can open the Headcount module in Mobile Command XR, scan the IDs of all present inmates, and then swipe to SAVE. However, this method does not reference the population list, so unaccounted-for inmates cannot be identified during an informal headcount and can only be identified during a formal headcount in Mission Command. These entries will also appear as an “ID Scan” in Mission Command.
   

Yes, performing a headcount using Mobile Command XR will reset the Compliance Monitor if a Location tag is scanned in the Headcount module. However, Location tags requiring observation will not count as a compliance check and will not reset the timer when scanned in the Headcount module.