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Automation in a Medium-Sized Jail

NCJ Number
125207
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Dated: (July 1990) Pages: 180-182
Author(s)
R Jameson; C Megerman
Date Published
1990
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The Jackson County (Missouri) Department of Corrections, which operates a 520-bed adult jail in Kansas City, has made a giant stride into the future of computerization for corrections.
Abstract
The Booking and Record Information system (BARIS) was designed to eliminate much of the paperwork needed to record or transmit information and to make accurate, current information on inmates easily available to all staff. With BARIS, current information on inmates is immediately available from 27 terminals throughout the facility. The nine major functions of BARIS show how valuable computerization can be to a corrections department: booking/intake, true name/alias, current criminal charges, classification/"keepaways," housing history, disciplinary actions, inmate trust fund accounting, general information, and release. BARIS also generates 15 different printed reports each night for distribution to staff the following morning. A final benefit of an automated information management system is the availability of information to answer specific questions about the inmate population as a whole.