The bulletin emphasizes the need for emergency response plans which are simple, flexible, available, and developed with the help of line operational personnel. The "Critical incident" is defined, and five type of critical incidents which might occur in jails are given as examples. The 12 essential elements of an emergency response plan are presented as well as the 10 special tasks and roles required in a critical incident response. The three objectives of a written critical incident response plan are described in relation to why all jails must develop a comprehensive critical incident response plan. Review questions are included in the training bulletin.