3 Common Shortcuts COs Take During Rounds and How Command Cloud Helps Prevent Them

Most correctional officers understand the importance of taking their time and being diligent while conducting their rounds. Still, there are instances where speed is prioritized over thoroughness. Working in a high-stakes environment such as corrections, being thorough in rounds is essential to ensuring the safety and security of the facility and everyone within it.

When rounds are rushed, it's nearly impossible to properly assess an inmate's condition, behavior, or activity they’re engaged in. This can result in missing crucial indicators, such as signs of distress or deteriorating mental or physical health. By conducting thoughtful observations, officers are better equipped to recall details on previous rounds and identify any potential warning signs they may have encountered if an incident occurs later. 

This blog will highlight three detrimental shortcuts corrections officers may be tempted to take during their rounds, and how Command Cloud can help prevent them from happening.

1.  Skipping Physical Checks on Inmates

One of the most harmful shortcuts corrections officers can take is failing to properly conduct physical checks—either skipping them entirely or falsely documenting that they were completed. While skipping an in-depth check may seem like a time-saver in the moment, it poses serious risks to the safety and well-being of everyone in the facility. 

Conducting a check means an officer needs to literally “check” on an inmate; it requires more than a simple glance into the cell and marking it complete. To conduct a check means to take a moment to intentionally look into the cell and take note of what is physically in front of you. It’s the officer's responsibility to verify that inmates are alive, healthy, behaving appropriately, and engaging in acceptable activities.

A successful physical check includes making three critical observations:

1. Inmate signs of life: Is the inmate in question alive? Officers must confirm that the inmate they are checking on is either breathing, moving, or showing some sign of alertness.
2. Inmate behavior: How is the inmate in question behaving? Are they showing signs of distress or aggression? Or are they cool, calm, and collected?
3. Inmate activity: What is the inmate in question doing? Are they sleeping? Are they peacefully reading or drawing? Or are they pacing their cell back and forth?

These are all questions to consider when intentionally observing an inmate during a physical check. When observations are skipped or rushed in an effort to shortcut the process, important warning signs can be missed entirely. 

To help prevent this, a best practice is to require observation notes to be completed immediately after scanning the RFID Hard Tag at each checkpoint. Command Cloud enables system administrators to enforce this standard by requiring officers to log observation checks at specific times and locations. 

When an officer scans a Hard Tag that requires an observation, they are immediately prompted to complete an observation check. This ensures more accurate documentation as it’s logged at the point of responsibility. It also encourages officers to take a closer, more deliberate look into the cell and properly observe the inmate’s signs of life, behavior, and activity. 

Additionally, suppose administration or supervisors notice a particular location or allocated timeframe being routinely overlooked or not containing detailed documentation. In that case, they can configure schedules that mandate observations, ensuring greater officer accountability and diligence. 

With Mobile Command XR, officers can log their observations using customizable, pre-set WordBlocks, talk-to-text capabilities, or manual input. Command Cloud’s WordBlocks are designed to guide officers through the key elements of a proper check: signs of life, body position, behavior, activity, and other relevant observations, providing staff a more efficient way to document key observations with minimal room for oversight.

For situations that fall outside of the predefined WordBlocks, the talk-to-text and manual entry options ensure officers can still record detailed, accurate notes. This real-time documentation process not only strengthens compliance but also encourages officers to make more thoughtful, attentive assessments of each inmate’s condition and behavior.

2. Completing Rounds Late with No Justification

Late rounds happen, whether avoidable or not. While inevitable from time to time, officers must document the reason(s) it was late to ensure compliance, support transparency, and guide necessary adjustments to prevent future late checks. That said, one common shortcut is skipping this explanation altogether. 

Some may think, “It’s already documented as late — what’s the point of writing down why it’s late?”

However, it’s important to understand that documenting a justification isn’t just busywork. It identifies and explains the reasons behind late checks. This insight helps to determine whether the delay was due to avoidable circumstances or was completely out of the officer's control. Whatever the reason, documenting the justification protects the officer from potential false allegations and helps management implement changes to prevent future delays. 

With Command Cloud, system administrators can require late check justifications whenever an officer scans a location tag past the scheduled time; they are immediately prompted to explain the reason. This real-time entry increases accuracy as justifications are made while the situation is still fresh—unlike logging it later, when memory may be less reliable. 

These justifications are automatically uploaded and stored in Command Cloud, ensuring transparency and giving supervisors real-time insight into why delays are happening. Additionally, once submitted, justifications cannot be edited, reinforcing the importance of detail and accuracy in the moment. Mandating late check justifications plays a crucial role in enhancing both compliance and officer accountability.

3. Failure to Document Observations

Another common shortcut taken by corrections officers is failing to thoroughly and accurately document their observations. When an inmate is in distress, acting erratically, or refusing food or medical care, detailed documentation is essential—not only for accurate reporting, but also for protecting the well-being of said inmate and everyone else in the facility.

Command Cloud can be configured to require photo or video documentation when officers scan specific Hard Tags or select certain WordBlocks, adding an extra layer of officer accountability. For example, simply selecting a WordBlock labeled “Erratic Behavior” may not provide enough context.  While officers can still add ad hoc notes, capturing a photo or video offers a significantly clearer capture of the situation. This kind of digital evidence helps prevent “he said, she said” disputes by providing concrete, visual context.

Strong digital evidence supports correctional staff and facility operations by:

• Capturing clear, indisputable incident documentation: Time-stamped photos and videos provide accurate records of key events such as altercations, assaults, or the discovery of contraband.
• Promoting accountability and transparency: Visual documentation allows for objective evaluation of staff actions and institutional procedures, free from speculation or bias.
• Enhancing legal and administrative defensibility: Whether in court or during internal reviews, digital evidence serves as a reliable and credible source of truth.

Even when media capture isn’t mandatory, officers using Mobile Command XR still have full access to digital evidence tools. With unlimited storage and support for videos up to one minute in length, they’re encouraged to document thoroughly—using both photos and videos—to create more accurate, defensible records.

Taking shortcuts during correctional rounds may save time in the moment, but the consequences heavily outweigh whatever short amount of time was saved. Compromising the safety and security of the facility and putting both officers and inmates at risk is not worth the shortcut.

Command Cloud is designed to proactively prevent these common pitfalls. By enforcing real-time observation logging, requiring justifications for late checks, and enabling thorough documentation (photo and video capture), Command Cloud enhances compliance, transparency, and accountability. With the right tools in place, facilities can ensure that rounds are performed thoroughly and consistently, supporting safer environments for everyone inside the walls.