NCJ Number
85708
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 46 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1982) Pages: 16-21
Date Published
1982
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The establishment of a word/information processing system in a Georgia probation office started with local sentence comparison, followed by active case information, management information outputs, and the use of word processing capabilities.
Abstract
Nearly all the input into the system is done by an operator working from worksheets submitted by the probation clerks. The clerks are required to complete this worksheet with 90 fields from information obtained primarily from the case file. There is an additional worksheet with five fields to be completed by officers when a defendant is sentenced, since there are some subjective decisions that must be translated to specific codes. Regular report outputs include sentencing data for a particular offense to aid officers in making sentencing recommendations and supervision reports that include the officer responsible for each case, the type of case, and expiration date. The system provides reports on those involved in drug aftercare and various sentencing alternatives. The information processor is also a word processor, which is used to take pressure off secretaries when presentence reports must be completed to make sentencing deadlines. The hardware is an IBM System 6 Model 442 Information Processor. Worksheet fields are listed, and various forms used in the system are provided.