PITB to replicate management information system in 20 jails

LAHORE: The Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) is all set to replicate Prison Management Information System (PMIS) in 20 jails of the Punjab and Command & Control at Inspectorate of Prisons Punjab in the first phase with customised features and some new modules after successful launch of pilot project for the District Jail, Lahore. This was informed in a progress review meeting headed by PITB Chairman Dr Umar Saif here Monday.

Addressing the meeting, Dr Umar Saif said the significance of this project needed to make quick and critical administrative and financial decisions for a security-oriented society. These decisions would be viable and prudent based on facts and figures that should be made readily available by maintaining a database and efficient processing of the information, he added. Through the PMIS, information about 49,776 prisoners, 8,503 visitors and 136 patients hospitalised in the jail, has been gathered.

The Punjab Prisons Department under the Punjab Home Department, intends to automate 43 functional jails in Punjab to update prison records to strengthen the criminal justice system. These facilities house more than 50,000 inmates. The project will be divided into two phases. In the first phase, 20 jails will be automated over the span of 18 months. While automation of 20 jails across Punjab, we will replicate the software developed for District Jail, Lahore, bringing improvements and adding new features in the existing modules. At District Jail, Lahore, there is an average of 70 prisoners intake daily and same average number is released on daily basis. Moreover, an average of 550 prisoners is produced in courts daily.

Five basic modules developed successfully to cover all aspects of the prison functionality include Prisoners’ Management, Visitors Management, Staff (HR) Management, Inventory & Stock Management and Accounts & Finance Management. The new 12 modules being developed along with improvements and modifications in existing modules to cover all aspects of the prison functionality include regional office and inspectorate function management, Punjab Prisons Foundation (PPF) Management, Training College Management, Factory Management, Diary Dispatch Management, Gate Book (38 No. Register) Management, Criminal Record Office (CRO) Integration, Mega Matcher Integration, Queue Management System, Canteen Management, PCO Integration with PMIS and Prisons Inspection App. Previously, prison inmate data was recorded in registers. Management and retrieval of these records was quite cumbersome. The data included detailed information about legal histories of inmates housed in various prisons. This included the date of their admission, their fingerprints, their court dates, jail transfer, medical histories, parole and crime details.