NCJ Number
53409
Date Published
1978
Length
13 pages
Annotation
A DESCRIPTION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE PRISON'S PRISON INFORMATION TRANSACTION SYSTEM (PITS), A COMPUTERIZED MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGNED TO MODERNIZE THE INMATE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM, IS GIVEN.
Abstract
THE AUTOMATION OF THE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM HAD FOUR PRIMARY PURPOSES: (1) IT WOULD MAKE DATA MORE ACCESSIBLE TO OFFICERS AND STAFF; (2) THE SYSTEM WOULD ENHANCE ACCURACY; (3) THE SYSTEM WOULD ENHANCE COMPLETENESS; AND (4) IT WOULD ENSURE BETTER SECURITY OF THE INFORMATION. PITS HAS FOUR COMPONENTS (1) PITS-DATABASE; (2) PITS-UPDATE; (3) PITS-HISTORY; AND (4) PITS-REPORTS. PITS-DATABASE CONTAINS INFORMATION ON EACH INDIVIDUAL UNDER THE PRISON'S SUPERVISION, PITS-UPDATE IS THE EDITING COMPONENT, PITS-HISTORY RETAINS HISTORICAL DATA AND IS CAPABLE OF TRACING CHANGES IN PITS-DATABASE, AND PITS-REPORTS IS A SERIES OF PROGRAMS THAT ALLOWS THE OPERATOR TO PERFORM STATISTICAL AND FINANCIAL ANALYSES. PITS IS DESIGNED TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN FOUR PHASES. PHASE I INVOLVES FEEDING THE COMPUTER CLASSIFICATION DATA AND INVOLVES THE CREATION OF DATA FILES. PHASE II IS THE OPERATIONALIZING OF THE PITS-DATABASE AND THE PITS-UPDATE COMPONENTS. PHASE III INVOLVES THE OPERATIONALIZING OF PITS-REPORTS. FINALLY, PHASE IV INVOLVES THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDIZED REPORTS AND THE SUPPLEMENTAL FILING SYSTEM. AS OF THIS REPORT, PHASE I WAS FULLY OPERATIONAL; PHASE II WAS 90 PERCENT OPERATIONAL; PHASE III WAS 50 PERCENT OPERATIONAL; AND PHASE IV WAS TO BE IMPLEMENTED. NO TABLES OF QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES ARE PROVIDED. A COMPARISON WITH NEW HAMPSHIRE'S OFFENDER-BASED STATE CORRECTIONS INFORMATION SYSTEM (OBSCIS) IS INCLUDED IN THE TEXT.