The report was titled Management of Offender Data and Records by the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
The Legislative PEER Committee analyzed the Mississippi Department of Corrections and their efficiency regarding offender data and records that are kept.
Overall, the report found that MDOC maintains unreliable, inaccurate and incomplete data records for some offenders. They found that this inaccurate reporting could impact decisions that are made by internal and external stakeholders in the prison system’s management.
MDOC’s Division of Records is responsible for creating offender records upon entry to the prison system. The staff is then required to edit and update those records.
“It is critical that the offender records and data be complete, accurate, valid, confidential and available,” read the report.
The PEER report sought to answer several questions regarding MDOC. They looked at how the department maintains records and data, what are the standards for the management of information systems, whether or not they have begun internal controls to limit user access to Offendertrak, is the data reliable and accurate and if not, why.
- The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) has limited controls over user access and permissions, which has resulted in duplicate user accounts and account errors.
- Data in Offendertrak does not consistently match the source documentation scanned into Legato. As a result, some offender records include incomplete, inconsistent, and missing information.
- MDOC’s offender program data is unreliable, inaccurate, and incomplete. This limits the effectiveness and efficiency of rehabilitation and re-entry decisions made by MDOC.
- Data in Offendertrak is not consistently updated for all offenders, resulting in outdated and inaccurate records.
- As a result of MDOC’s unreliable data, the Legislature might not effectively use MDOC’s data to make the most informed decisions regarding policy and the funding of the state’s correctional system. Also, MDOC staff cannot ensure they are making the most effective and efficient decisions regarding the management of offenders and operation of facilities.
- Offendertrak is an outdated and inefficient legacy system that is nearing the end of its useful life and will no longer be supported by the system’s vendor as of June 30, 2025.
- The Legislature should consider enacting legislation to require the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) to provide special assistance to MDOC. To fund this assistance, the Legislature should consider requiring MDOC to pay ITS expenditures associated with the project. ITS shall itemize its expenditures for each fiscal year in which they are incurred.
- MDOC should improve its management of offender data by: implementing internal controls (e.g., updating user roles and permissions across all facilities, defining what source constitutes the master record), conducting quality assurance on information produced in its reports, annually reviewing offender programs to ensure proper documentation, and providing annual training for all users on how to effectively use the data systems.
You can view the full report below:
PEER on MDOC by yallpolitics on Scribd
Sarah Ulmer
