REESE
THE DEPARTMENT of Correctional Services has embarked on a modernisation process with the Monday launch of the Offender Management System at the Medallion Hall Hotel in St. Andrew.
The implementation of the state-of-the-art system, which will be provided by Digital Solutions Incorporated, is a collaborative effort between the Citizens Security Justice Programme and the correctional service.
The Offender Management System, which will be implemented in the next six to 13 months at a cost of US$804,000, will greatly improve the monitoring and processing of inmates at the island's prisons and rehabilitation facilities.
The system, which is used in over 250 locations in the United States and the United Kingdom, will be implemented on a pilot basis in the Tower Street Adult Correctional Facility, the St. Catherine District Prison and the Horizon Remand Centre.
AUGMENT MONITORING CAPACITY
Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Dr. Donald Rhodd, said that the new system will significantly augment the capacity of correctional officers to monitor and track inmates at all times. He also said that with the ballooning population in prisons, the system would make the analysis of trends and the monitoring of inmates simpler.
Commissioner of Corrections Major Richard Reese also believed that the introduction of the system would reduce the time taken to process, supervise and track inmates. The correctional service currently operates a manual system, "So it is very difficult to analyse data in order to get access to information," he said.
He added that the new electronically-based system would allow his department to reduce duplication of effort and increase administrative efficiency, as profiles of inmates with specific characteristics can be made, therefore, information can be quickly correlated for security purposes.
He also said the system would be helpful as staff that would be normally used in the manual process could be transferred to other areas within the prison.
