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Home Office

Answer

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) pursuant to his answer of 17 March, Official Report, column 586W, on the Inmate Information System (IIS), what percentage of inmates serving sentences have had their records linked to the IIS; what measures are being taken to address the limitations of the system; and what timetable he has set for rectifying these limitations; [105358] (2) pursuant to his answer of 17 March, Official Report, column 586W, on the Inmate Information System (IIS), which computer systems are being considered as replacements for the IIS; and what the costs are of the systems being considered. [105359] Hilary Benn: All prisons and prisoner records are linked to the Inmate Information System (IIS), although any linking of current records to previous custody information is done manually, as I outlined in my answer of 17 March 2003, Official Report, column 586W, to the hon. Member. It is not possible to provide a percentage of the records that are linked in this way, as no central record is maintained of this information. However, prisons do routinely receive details of previous convictions from the court or police authorities and everything possible is done to link current records with previous custody information. The current IIS system is being reviewed and the linking of information, both on previous periods in custody and more widely with other Criminal Justice agencies, will be a major consideration of that review. This work is at its initial stages and it is not yet possible to give any firm details of likely timescales, costs or computer systems involved in the implementation.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

402 c668-9W; 105358;105359

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Databases Criminal records Computer networks ICT Personal records Prisoners

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk