Records management practices
of Qalakabusha and Westville
prison:
Evaluating systems for records
management in
Literature review
prisons
University of Zululand, South Africa
Department of information studies
S. Mbatha
Supervisor: L.P Luthuli
Outline
• Introduction & background
• Objectives
• Problem statement
• Methodology
• Current status of records management in prisons
• Types of management systems for records management in
prisons
• Challenges associated with the lack of systems for records
management in prisons
• Contribution of records management systems in prisons
• Conclusion
Introduction & background
• Prisons serve as institutions of incarceration that are
responsible for detaining individuals that have been found
guilty of a criminal offense.
• Prisons are facilities that do more than just detain prisoners;
they provide medical care, separation of categories, food,
sanitation, administration and independent monitoring
(Stephens, 2018).
• As facilities that house a large number of prisoners and
provide other programs, they rely on a management system
to keep track of records from different departments.
Introduction & background
• Records keep track of prisoner information and provide
evidence of other activities, such as administration, medical
care and rehabilitation.
• Creating and maintaining prisoner files is also essential for
effective prison management and improves the transparency
and accountability of prison administrations.
• The careful collection of information about those being held
in custody is critical to informing both day to day prison
administration and long-term prison planning (handbook on
prisoner file management, 2008)
Objectives
• To evaluate the types of records management systems used in
prisons
• To determine challenges associated with the lack of records
management systems in prisons.
• To determine the contribution of records management systems
in prisons
Problem statement
• Most prisons in Africa still rely primarily on the traditional system
of record keeping for managing their records.
• This can be validated by Ahishayike, Taremwa and Omulo (2017)
who state that a majority of correctional centres in developing
countries still depend on the manual system (pen and paper) to
create, store and retrieve their records.
• The traditional paper-driven, system is unreliable, unsecure,
requires a lot of space and puts records at the risk of being
damaged or lost.
• The study aims to create awareness of records management
systems implemented in some prisons.
Methodology
• Research method- Qualitative
• Paradigm- interpretative research paradigm
• Research design- case study
• Data collection tools- interviews, observations and document
analysis
• Sampling- purposive sampling
• Data analysis- thematic analysis
Current status of records management in
South African prisons
Current status of records management in
South African prisons
• Prison records are still kept in manual systems (Tapscott,
2009).
• Lack of accurate data still a major issue in south African
prisons
• There are issues regarding corruption and the credibility of
records (Stephens, 2018).
Kate barnard community corrections center
Systems for records management in prisons
• A records management system refers to flow-processing
procedures based on computer data, and integrated with
other procedures in order store retrieve and provide
information in a timely and effective manner
• Ensuring effective records management systems is essential
for the effective management of any prison.
• To ensure adequacy and efficiency in records management
• To make it less difficult to monitor individual records of
prisoners (Hand book for prison leaders, 2010).
Integrated prison management system
(IPMS)
• The integrated prison management system is used to enhance
the administrative capabilities of jails in terms of monitoring and
security of a majority prisons in India (Jharkhand).
• The IPMS has the following advantages, it is a secure system to
modernize inmate record maintenance and searching operations.
• It also facilitates electronic processing of inmates records and the
management of such activities to provide higher level of
compliance and faster service with lower costs and higher
efficiency.
• Supports the jail staff working in the prisons with efficient record-
keeping and makes the work profile of the staff much easier in
day by day administrative work
Prison management systems (PRISMS)
• The Prisons Management Systems (PRISMS), is an e-
governance initiative of Goa government that been has
influential as far as automation and efficiency of Prisons
management is concerned.
• Provides effectiveness and efficiency of record keeping and
stores records in a centralized database.
• Provides real-time information on all aspects of jail
management including “inmate personal property, visitor
activity, mental and medical health information, inmate
movement in and out the facility, case and crime information,
remission, parole, and furlough (Manzar, 2014).
Prison management and visitor management
system
• Captures registration, movement in the jail and outside and
release of the inmate.
• Stores prison records in a central database such that duplicate
entry of the prisoner can be identified in a global manner
• It helps to generate more reports of administrative
performance and statistical nature.
• It facilitates, regulates and simplifies the processes of meeting
between the visitors who are coming to visit their prisoners.
• Helps in dealing with over populous prison that is housing
inmates, which are more than three times of the sanctioned
capacity (Ahishayike, Taremwa & Omulo, 2017).
Offender management information system
(OMIS)
• It is a web based electronic data management system that
stores and retrieves important prisoner records from the day
they are admitted to the day they finish their sentence.
• The system provides these modules: Admission, Reception
and Assessment, Health Management , Case Management,
Rehabilitation Activities, Institutional Incidents , Visits,
Transfers, Pre-Release, Sentence Changes; and Release.
• It stores, retrieves and analyses more complex data elements
that can then generate other summary information.
Challenges associated with the lack of records management systems in prisons
• There are thousands of paper records and no storage space. Average
of 700-800 paper records per month (The Oklahoman, 2016).
• Abundance of paper records that get lost and damaged (Wahome,
2011).
• The manual system for administrative records functions causes delays
and reduces the output of staff significantly (Ahishayike, Taremwa and
Omulo , 2017)
• Manual system results in redundancy, inconsistency, data insecurity,
lack of proper backup measures (Joshua legacy enterprise, 2019) .
• In other prisons reports disappear and tracing them becomes a
problem since their system is not automated. Some files get worn out
(Wahome, 2011).
The contribution of records management systems in prisons
• The prison management systems have transformed the working
environment and brought forth a significant change in terms of
electronic records management.
• Manzar (2011) asserts that records management became easier
after the prison management system (PRISMS) initiative was
implemented
• The integrated prison management system (IPMS) has
modernized inmate records maintenance and searching
operations.
• The offender management information system (OMIS) provides
digital storage of records concerning admission, health
management, rehabilitation and jail visits.
Conclusion
• Literature revealed that the systems that have been
implemented in some prisons are effective and efficient in
terms of records management.
• Furthermore a majority of the prisons that are plagued with
challenges and inadequacy of recordkeeping still rely on the
traditional system of record keeping which requires them to use
paper records.
• Ensuring a simplified and efficient records management
approach in prisons calls for the adoption of records
management systems, therefore it is recommended that prisons
migrate from the manual system to minimize the challenges and
to improve accountability, transparency and security of records.
