NCJ Number
80892
Date Published
1981
Length
85 pages
Annotation
This report presents the results of an analysis of the Cook County Department of Corrections (CCDOC) Correctional Institutional Management Information System (CIMIS) database for the State of Illinois.
Abstract
The analysis surveyed the inmate data in the CIMIS database at all sites, described CIMIS operations and use at all CIMIS sites, and used CIMIS data to determine whether the decisions made by corrections personnel were patterned and predictable. Research methods to obtain data included observations of CIMIS operations on all of the CCDOC divisions; interviews with CIMIS users, managers, and designers; and analysis of portions of the CIMIS database. The report recommends that CCDOC immediately take steps to ensure that medical information is entered into CIMIS. CCDOC-CIMIS terminals should be located at all points where inmate movements and locations are now monitored on paper and at all points where it is important to record inmate movement. CCDOC and court personnel should collaborate on the development of new forms that provide for clear and consistent entry of court event elements. In addition, the data entry process at intake should be changed. Data should be entered directly into CIMIS terminals, and the history cards should be generated by the computer after the intake process is complete. Information updating should include all aspects of the inmates' records. Footnotes, a glossary, appended technical data and study forms, 2 charts, and 25 tables are included.