Consular Notification and Access

Title: It’s the Right Thing to Do: Consular Notification and Access

Presenter: Wally Doerge, U.S. Department of State.

Originally broadcast June 8, 2017. 55 minutes.

Crowded, chaotic oversee detention facility

About the Program

How American jails treat foreign nationals here in the U.S. can—and does—affect what happens to U.S. citizens who are in trouble abroad.

Under U.S. law, jails have a responsibility to notify a nation’s consulate/embassy when a non-US citizen is detained. Notifying consulates is not only good practice, it’s smart.

This webcast shares what jail staff need to know about notification—before the next foreign national arrives in your booking room. It’s relevant for jail administrators, wardens, managers, supervisors, and staff of city, county, state and federal jails and prisons.

Viewers will learn:

  • Basics on when consular notification is necessary
  • Tips for keeping notification easy, effective, and documented
  • Background on what to expect, and allow, when consular representatives visit and assist inmates
  • How assisting consular officials is a win-win.
  • How to access a wealth of training and policy content, as well as personal guidance, from the State Department.

Resources

Download the slidedeck (PDF). Includes contact information for the speaker.

Get help from the Consular Notification and Access homepage, U.S. Department of State:

  • Consular Notification and Access – Process Flow Chart
  • Suggested Fax Sheet for Notifying Consular Officers of Arrests or Detentions
  • Suggested Fax Sheet for Notifying Consular Officers of Death or Serious Injuries
  • Inmate notification materials in various languages
  • Searchable directory of consular offices in the U.S.
  • 12-minute roll call training video
  • . . . and much more.

About the Presenter

Wally Doerge

Wally Doerge is a Consular Notification Officer and the manager of the U.S. Department of State’s Consular Notification and Access (CNA) program in Washington, D.C., where she focuses on educating public safety personnel on consular notification issues. Wally started her State Department career in 1987 at the passport agency in New York City. She was active for many years in outreach on behalf of the Policy Coordination and Public Affairs Office in the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs.