Creating Incidents

Starting a New Incident

You can create a new incident from several places:

• Click the + New Incident button on the dashboard
• Click New Incident from the incidents list page
• Use the keyboard shortcut N from anywhere in the app

Required Information

Every incident report requires these core fields:

Title

A brief, descriptive summary of what happened. Good titles are specific and scannable:

• Good: "Child fell from playground equipment - minor scrape"
• Good: "Water leak in fellowship hall ceiling"
• Avoid: "Incident report" or "Something happened"

Category

Select the type of incident from your organization's configured categories. Common categories include:

• Injury / Medical
• Property Damage
• Security / Safety Concern
• Child Protection
• Behavioral Incident
• Near Miss

Categories help with filtering, reporting, and identifying patterns.

Date and Time

When did the incident occur? Be as precise as possible. If you're not sure of the exact time, use your best estimate and note the uncertainty in the description.

Location

Where did the incident happen? Select from your configured locations. Being specific helps identify problem areas and patterns.

Description

The narrative description is the heart of your incident report. Write a clear, factual account of what happened.

Tips for writing good descriptions:

• Stick to facts: Describe what you observed, not conclusions or assumptions
• Be specific: "The child fell from the third rung of the ladder" not "The child fell"
• Include context: What was happening before the incident? What conditions existed?
• Avoid blame: Focus on what happened, not whose fault it was
• Note immediate response: What did you do right after the incident?

Optional Information

These fields add valuable context to your report:

Ministry

Which ministry or department was involved? This helps route incidents to the right people and track patterns by area.

Involved Parties

Who was directly involved in or affected by the incident? For each person, you can record:

• Name
• Role (victim, witness, staff member, etc.)
• Contact information
• Notes about their involvement

Privacy note:Only include information that's relevant to the incident. Follow your organization's guidelines for recording personal information.

Attachments

You can upload photos, documents, and other files to support your report. Drag and drop files into the upload area, or click to browse:

• Photos: Injury photos, property damage, scene photos
• Documents: Signed statements, medical forms, police reports
• Supported formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, PDF, MP4 video
• Size limit: 10MB per file

The Attachments tab offers both list view (table with sortable columns) and gallery view (grid with image previews). You can sort attachments by name, size, or upload date.

Note on deletion: While your incident is in draft, you can freely delete your own attachments. After submission, removing attachments requires either a request (reviewed by an administrator) or administrator action. This ensures the integrity of submitted records.

Incident Flags

You can apply special flags to incidents:

Urgent

Mark an incident as urgent when it requires immediate attention. Only Reviewers and above can mark incidents as urgent. Urgent incidents are highlighted in the dashboard and may trigger additional notifications.

Private

Private incidents are only visible to Privileged Reviewers, Administrators, and Owners. Only Privileged Reviewers and above can mark an incident as private. Use this for sensitive matters involving personnel issues, allegations, or confidential information.

Saving and Submitting

Save as Draft

If you need to gather more information before submitting, save your report as a draft. Drafts are only visible to you and can be edited freely.

Submit

When you're ready, click Submit to finalize your report. Important: Once submitted, the original incident details become permanent and cannot be edited. This immutability is by design—it ensures your records are defensible.

After submission, you can still:

• Add follow-up comments
• Upload additional attachments
• Respond to information requests

Reviewers can add amendments if factual corrections are needed.

Best Practices

• Report promptly: Document incidents as soon as possible while details are fresh
• Be thorough: Include all relevant details—you can't add them to the original later
• Stay objective: Stick to facts and avoid speculation
• Use standard language: Avoid jargon or abbreviations that might be unclear
• Check before submitting: Review your report for accuracy—once submitted, it's permanent