Stuart J. Chagrin Director of Planning and Development N.Y.C. Department of Correction 100 Centre Street New York, N.Y. 10013 OPERATIONAL RESULTS OF A CORRECTION INFORMATION SYSTEM ABSTRACT: The Department of Correction was faced, in 1970, with an increasing problem in its record keeping procedures and reporting capabilities caused by high population and extensive movement in its detention and sentenced prison facilities. To alleviate these problems, the Department initiated the development of a computerized Inmate Information System. This system was designed to eliminate the problems caused by total manual record keeping procedures and create a data base to be used for research and planning purposes. The system has been operational for the past two years and has achieved the key objectives intended. It has provided solutions to both the Department of Correction and related Criminal Justice Agencies operational problems and management needs. Introduction The New York City Department of Correction presently maintains two adolescent detention facilities, one female detention and sentenced institution, one male sentenced prison, six male adult detention facilities, one hospital, three'hospital prison wards, and twenty court detention pen facilities. The daily census of these facilities is 8,000, of which 75% are in detention. Approximately 250 inmates are admitted and discharged daily, while 1,000 inmates must be transported to court each day. In addition, 2,000 telephone calls are received by the Department each day for information concerning specific inmates. Problem The problems caused by maintaining manual records for these inmates, including new inmate record keeping, discharge records, court updates, location changes, and numerous other miscellaneous items, are discussed below: - 452 -
1. Lack of Centralized Information Each institution maintained their own independent record keeping procedures. Approximately 14 different forms were used at each facility to keep track of different inmate data. These cards had to be created for approximately 70,000 new admissions each year, in addition to being up-dated approximately 400,000 times a year due to inmate movement and changes in status. It was impossible for the Department to provide location or status information, in a timely manner, for inmates housed in its facilities. Telephone calls had to be made to multiple institutions to track down a specific inmate. Inmates who were incarcerated under an alias could not be retrieved at all. This problem caused frustration to all persons requiring information, including the Department, lawyers," courts, the Police Department, and inmate's friends and relatives. 2. Duplication of Effort Many of the forms used contained identical information. The forms had to be filed in alphabetical order, by Department of Correction number order, and, by location order. All information entered on one card had to be written on all other cards. The manpower requirement to perform this handwritten duplication was extensive. 3. Legibility of the Forms Since each form contained extensive handwritten information, with many people performing the writing, it was extremely difficult to read the information. In addition, each person wrote information in a different manner and in perhaps different locations on the card. 4. Timeliness of the Information The large workload caused by the high volume of data to be transcribed made it impossible to complete certain record keeping on time. Simple information 'to produce daily reports could not be prepared on time. This necessitated the creation of additional handwritten records to contain specific skeletal information required to retrieve critical information without encountering the delays caused by searching the major card files. 5. Inability to Produce Comprehensive Reports Any special request for inmate information could not be produced without a major disruption in normal daily record keeping activities. It was impossible to prepare simple reports on inmate population characteristics or produce reports comparing inmates at different institutional facilities. - 453 -
6. Personnel Shortages The Department of Correction has always been faced with the problem of adequately staffing its institutional General Offices. The General Office in detention facilities must be operated on a 24 hour, 7 day a week basis. The constantly increasing requirements of the manual record keeping procedure, caused a reduction in performance in certain critical areas such as file maintenance. Staff shortages further increased the problems of legibility, accuracy, misfiling and unfinished work. 7. File Access and Retrieval The large manual record keeping workload caused problems in mis-filing and legibility which made retrieval of inmate information extremely difficult. Almost all information was filed and had to be retrieved by inmate name only. This made it impossible to answer many information calls which required searching by aliases. New York State Identification and Intelligence System (NYSIIS) Number, Criminal Court Docket Number or Supreme Court Indictment Number. 8. History Record Retrieval Many calls required information on inmates who had already been discharged from our facilities. This required searching separate record rooms or the New York City Archives. Reliability of these searches was poor. It was also impossible to produce any analysis based upon discharged inmates, such as recidivism studies or average detention length of stay studies. Solution To combat the ever increasing problems caused by the manual record keeping procedures, the Department of Correction began the development of a computerized Inmate Information System. A detailed description of the objectives, implementation procedures, and system operation appear in Chagrin, Stuart J. and Eisenberg, Norman, "Design and Implementation of a Correction Information System," Project SEARCH International Symposium on Criminal Justice Information and Statistics Systems, 1972, and Chagrin, Stuart J. and Vierno, George R., "Operation of a Correction Information System," Project SEARCH International Symposium on Criminal Justice Information and Statistics Systems, 1974. The basic functions of the Inmate Information System are to: 1. Create and maintain complete records for all inmates entering Department of Correction custody. This includes new admissions, transfers, and discharged inmates. Upon admission, a complete computer record is created for the inmate containing his name, key identification numbers, relevant personal information, court information, location information and any other - 454 -
necessary data. Any change of status resulting from court appearances, cell changes, etc., are entered at the time of occurrence. Upon discharge, a complete record is maintained for future reference and analysis purposes. 2. To quickly locate and provide full information about each inmate incarcerated in our facilities. This information can be retrieved knowing an inmate's name, NYSIIS number, Department of Correction number, court docket number or indictment number, or any of his aliases. This information is provided in real-time through video display computer terminals located in all institutions and other key locations. 3. To produce reports to assist in the daily operation of the institutions and to aid in future planning. Results and Benefits The Inmate Information System has alleviated all the problems associated with the manual record keeping procedure. The utilization of the central computer system now permits inquiries to be handled at any point in the system independent of where an inmate is housed. Upon institutional transfer, only the inmate's assigned location must be changed on his record. No additional records must be modified and updated. File searching is greatly reduced since each inmate record is accessed much faster and more accurately. Accuracy in location of an inmate is much more reliable since he can be found by name, aliases, NYSIIS number. Department of Correction number, Docket Number or Indictment number. Information is more timely due to on-line entry of all relevant data at the time it occurs. Required reports are produced on time automatically by the computer without additional manpower. Special reports for analysis and planning have been generated which could not have been produced under the manual record keeping procedure. A history file is maintained on tape and listings so that the information is easily accessible. Many of the forms previously used under the manual record keeping procedure have been obsoleted and eliminated. Specific reports are detailed below to indicate the impact of the Inmate Information System on both the daily operation and on the management information capability now available to the Department of Correction and related Criminal Justice agencies. 1. Operational Reports A. Institution Alphabetical List A daily list prepared for each institution containing all inmates at that facility in alphabetical order plus key identification and operational data, such as court information, warrant information, and cell location. This is used for sorting mail, location for visits, and certain information requests. - 455 -
B. Cell Occupancy List A daily list with a description by housing area of all cells in that area, the inmates assigned to those cells, or an indication of its availability, plus information essential to evaluate and determine appropriate cell assignment. C. Statistical Summary of Bed Status A daily statistical summary for each institutional housing area indicating the number of cells in that area, the number available, occupied, and broken. D. Appearance Lists A daily list of all inmates who have scheduled appointments, including Criminal Court, Supreme Court, clinics, etc., for that day. These reports are prepared in housing area order and destination order, to assist the institution in locating inmates and then transporting them to the proper destination. E. Expiring Sentence Report A list of all inmates whose sentences will be expiring within -he next week. F. Register of Prisoners Prepared for each institution, listing all inmate movement for the day: new admissions, discharges, court appearances, etc. G. Master Alphabetical List A master list of all inmates presently incarcerated. This is used as a quick reference at locations where a computer terminal is unavailable. It is also used by many related agencies to enable them to quickly locate inmates. H. Master Discharge List A list prepared monthly of all inmates who have been discharged in a given year. This list contains his name, address, identification numbers, institutions of admission and discharge with their associated dates, and the reason for discharge. 2. Management Reports. A. Inmate Census Report Daily statistical report of the inmate population at each institution, including a breakdown by county of jurisdiction for detainees. - 456 -
B. Reimbursement Report Automatic preparation of billing for inmates New York City is holding for other jurisdictions, such as New York State or the Federal Government. C. Movement of Population Report Statistical Analysis of the daily movement at each facility. D. Monthly Report of Inmates Lists of all inmates awaiting action in Criminal and Supreme Court. These reports are used by the courts in their bail review procedure and to prevent excessive lengths of stay. E. Analysis of Court Cases A breakdown of the number, type, and status of court cases inmates are incarcerated for. bail. F. Bail Discharge List A daily report of all persons discharged upon payment of G. Log Analysis Statistical summary of the number of transactions performed and messages processed by transaction type and time of day for the computer system. H. Special Analysis Reports The Inmate Information System has been able to produce several key analysis reports, such as: - Length of Stay - a comprehensive analysis of all inmates discharged in 1973 with an analysis of their length of stay based upon key items of data. - Bail Analysis - an analysis of bail amounts for inmates based upon charges and county of jurisdiction. - Drug Law Analysis - an analysis of the impact of the September 1973 drug law in terms of its effect on population size, bail changes, and length of stay. 3. Criminal Justice Agency Use The system has also received wide acceptance and use by agencies dealing with the Department of Correction. A sample of these agencies and their use of the Inmate Information System follows: - 457 -
a. The Police Department Warrant Squad is presently using the Inmate Information System for inquiry purposes. They are able to locate quickly and accurately inmates upon whom warrants have been issued. Previously, this would require many men making multiple phone calls and visits to different facilities, whereas now it is all being performed at one computer terminal in a few hours. b. The Inmate Information System prepares a roster for Criminal Court indicating all inmates who have been in detention for 30 days or more. This report has enabled the Criminal Court to ensure prompt action on all defendants. It has also enabled them to revise their entire bail review procedure. The Supreme Court receives a similar monthly roster for all inmates who have been indicted. c. The Human Resources Administration has been receiving a list of all sentenced inmates with their tentative date of discharge. This is permitting them to conduct a study to evaluate the desirability of stopping public assistance during a person's incarceration. d. The Narcotics Register maintains a list of all persons who are drug addicts in New York City. The Inmate Information System now provides a list of the prison addict population automatically. e. The Pre-Trial Release Program is utilizing the Inmate Information System data to determine the applicability of persons for pre-trial release in addition to evaluating the results of their program over the last year. f. The Legal Aid Society is using the system to enable their lawyers to quickly and accurately locate inmates and arrange counsel visits. - 458 -