Doing Prison Time

• NCJ Number: 218279
• Date Published: January 2007
• Length: 2 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2005-MU-CX-K077
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Technical)
• Award: Operation of the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC)

Annotation

This article describes the Web-Enabled Timeline Analysis System (WebTAS) and its developing use by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections for the merging and sharing of pertinent State correctional information.

Abstract

The software program Web-Enabled Timeline Analysis System (WebTAS) was originally designed for government agencies and law enforcement as a flexible suite of analytical tools that enable public safety agencies to quickly and easily merge data. It uses an agency's existing mainframe system to track pertinent incidents. The software gives analysts the ability to plot events spatially and temporally and look for links. Now, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is capitalizing on WebTAS. The deputy secretary for corrections began making WebTAS fit into Pennsylvania's correctional intranet, called DOCNET. State employees would continue entering data into the various databases used by different correctional facilities and WebTAS would connect all these varied data sources together. Future potential uses being reviewed for WebTAS in Pennsylvania's correctional system include tracking nonsexual assaults and inmate misconduct, combating gang activity and drug use, and analyzing visitors. WebTAS offers States the ability to share critical information and collaborate with each other.