INTERFACING AN OBSCIS (OFFENDER-BASED STATE CORRECTIONS INFORMATION SYSTEM) WITH OTHER SYSTEMS - THE HAWAII PERSPECTIVE (FROM OBSCIS COMPENDIUM - PROCEEDINGS FROM THE OBSCIS SEMINAR, 1978, BY A H LAMMER - SEE NCJ-51740)

• NCJ Number: 51743
• Author(s): C CHOW
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 9 pages
• Corporate Author: SEARCH Group Inc.
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

HAWAII'S EXPERIENCE WITH CORRECTIONS PLANNING AND OBSCIS IS CITED IN A DISCUSSION OF THE PREREQUISITES FOR AND POTENTIAL ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF LINKING OBSCIS WITH OTHER CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SYSTEMS.

Abstract

DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING AN OFFENDER-BASED STATE CORRECTIONS INFORMATION SYSTEM (OBSCIS) TO INTERFACE WITH OTHER INFORMATION SYSTEMS REQUIRES THE FOLLOWING: A CRIMINAL JUSTICE PERSPECTIVE MUST BE TAKEN BY DATA ANALYSTS; OBSCIS DEVELOPERS MUST UNDERSTAND STATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE TERMINOLOGY AND PROCESSES; THE DATA ELEMENT DEFINITIONS OF OTHER AGENCIES MUST BE CLEAR, PARTICULARLY AS THEY RELATE TO DEFINITIONS OF CORRECTIONAL DATA ELEMENTS; OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES FOR CAPTURING AND CODING DATA ELEMENTS MUST BE UNDERSTOOD BY ANALYSTS AND SYSTEM DEVELOPERS; AND NATIONAL DEFINITONS MUST BE PRECISE AND STANDARDIZED. HAWAII'S CORRECTIONAL MASTER PLAN DEFINED THREE OBJECTIVES--INDIVIDUAL OFFENDER MONITORING, PROGRAM EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AND MANAGEMENT REPORTING-FOR AN INFORMATION SYSTEM TO SUPPORT INTAKE SERVICE CENTERS, WHICH COORDINATE AND MONITOR ALL CORRECTIONS SERVICES PROVIDED TO OFFENDERS BEFORE AND AFTER TRIAL. DURING THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING ITS OBSCIS, HAWAII CREATED AND MAINTAINED BOTH FORMAL AND INFORMAL CONTACTS WITH CORRECTIONS AND OTHER CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES. IN HAWAII, AS IN MANY OTHER STATES WITH OBSCIS SYSTEMS, CONDITIONS (ADEQUATE RESOURCES, POLITICAL CONCERN FOR CRIME, LEADERSHIP) EXIST THAT CAN MAKE A NATIONAL CORRECTIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEM A REALITY. THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF INTERFACING OBSCIS WITH OTHER INFORMATION SYSTEMS INCLUDE ELIMINATION OF DUPLICATE DATA, IMPROVED ACCURACY OF DATA, DEVELOPMENT OF A GLOSSARY OF COMMON CRIMINAL JUSTICE DEFINITIONS AND TERMS, A BROADER PERSPECTIVE IN THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF OBSCIS, LOWER COSTS AND GREATER EFFICIENCY FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES, THE ABILITY TO PINPOINT RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACCURACY OF DATA AND TO ESTABLISH ERROR CORRECTION PROCEDURES THROUGHOUT THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF MANAGEMENT REVIEW OF EXISTING MANUAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS. POTENTIAL DISADVANTAGES OF INTERFACING OBSCIS WITH OTHER SYSTEMS INCLUDE LIMITATIONS ON OBSCIS FILE STRUCTURE FLEXIBILITY IMPOSED BY STATE CONSTRAINTS, THE COMPLEXITIES OF COORDINATING ACTIVITIES AND PLANS, COMPROMISE OF CERTAIN GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, EXPENDITURES INVOLVED IN TRAINING STAFF ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INFORMATION SYSTEMS, THE TIME AND EFFORT REQUIRED TO DEVELOP A GLOSSARY OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE TERMS, THE POSSIBILITY THAT OTHER AGENCIES MAY NOT UNDERSTAND THE NUANCES OF OBSCIS DATA, AND PROBLEMS THAT MAY RESULT FROM INCREASED INTERDEPENDENCY AMONG CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES. A SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF HAWAII'S OBSCIS IS APPENDED.