PROBATION INFORMATION SYSTEM

A total of 143 officials and selected personnel or end users from all regions nationwide trained for the Probation Information System (PIS) in preparation for its implementation in the coming months.

Conducted in six batches from February to March of the current year, the training primarily aimed to introduce to the participants or end users the basic functions of PIS using its software application system. According to Ms. Mary Ann Navalta of the Case Management and Records Division who initiated the project, the development of PIS would facilitate the tedious procedures and processes involved in the investigation and supervision functions of the Parole and Probation Administration (PPA).

A representative of the Microbase Incorporated, the system developer of PIS, taught the end users the functions and maintenance features of the system. The participants were also oriented on the software application system relative to electronic case docketing, generation of investigation and supervision referrals, and reports needed by the courts, respectively. User’s Manual and video materials were utilized during the training.

The development of PIS for the PPA seeks to improve the delivery of its services to the clients as well as the public in general. The mandate of the Agency, which are investigation and supervision, involves various procedures and processes that requires a development of an information system, hence, the establishment of the PIS. The objectives of the System are the following:

  1. Provide the courts with relevant information and judicious recommendations for the selection of offender to be placed on probation.
  2. Improve public service delivery by reducing time in preparation on investigation and supervision.
  3. Monitor the status of investigation and supervision cases handled by the field officer / field office.
  4. Provide information relative to the three-pronged approach (Therapeutic Community, Restorative Justice, and Volunteerism) of rehabilitation and treatment of the probationers.
  5. Track down the rehabilitation programs participated in by the clients.
  6. Maintain the case history of the clients thus reducing time in retrieving their case records.
  7. Generate comprehensive statistics needed by policy formulators and decision makers in conducting thorough systematic analysis of the problems and needs of the Agency and its relationships with other sectors of the society.
  8. Generate sex-aggregated data to address gender and development issues.
  9. Provide timely feedback to appropriate authorities on problems in the program implementation so that corrective actions are instituted on time.
  10. Develop record system and ensure its integrity by employing Biometric Data Capture and having the capability to perform 1:1 fingerprint verification and 1:N fingerprint identification within the probationer’s database.
  11. Produce a clean biometric person record database without duplicates or double registration.
  12. Establish centralized probationer’s database connecting via a wide area network covering 16 regional offices, 224 field offices, and central office.
  13. Generate Reports as defined by the Agency, and
  14. Support by backend facilities – the Housekeeping Facility to ensure the ‘up to-datedness’ quality of the Libraries, the Audit, Analysis and Reporting System for tracking users of the system, and the Management and Administration System for secured supervision of the application system.

In the end, the PIS will be an instrument in the improvement and upliftment of the strategies being adopted by the Agency in its investigation and supervision functions.