On April 9, several DOC officials were interviewed by a freelance reporter who is writing a story for the Wall Street Journal's "The Future of Everything" section. The topic of the article is the DOC's Inmate Assignment Decision Support System (IADSS) that was developed by Lehigh University students and professors.
The writer said she learned about the software system from a daily technology report she subscribes to.
The interview included Dr. Bret Bucklen, director of the DOC's Planning, Research & Statistics Office, Erin Brown, director of the Office of Population Management (OPM), and Jennifer Hendricks, chief of population management.
The group discussed how the project came to life – when in 2011 DOC officials, specifically Secretary John Wetzel, noticed a high number of assaults at a particular facility, and he asked Bucklen for a program that applied operations research to corrections. Through Bucklen's research, it was realized that the DOC has sent too many young inmates to the one prison. Young inmates tend to be more assaultive and act out.
Bucklen continued his research by reaching out to his mentor Dr. Al Blumstein who suggested that Bucklen find an industrial engineer to work on the project. Two universities were discovered, and Bucklen approached Lehigh University.
Bucklen then took a group of DOC officials to Lehigh to meet with staff and students, and the need for an inmate assignment tool that would better control the types of inmates being sent to one facility and so much more was discussed. Following a competitive bid process, Lehigh University was awarded the project in 2013.
Since then, DOC officials estimate a $2.9 million savings in the first year and $20 million in savings over five years.
The four areas of savings are:
-Reduction in the number of transportations. In the first year of use, the system resulted in 1,000 less transportations, which cost $82 per inmate per transportation.
-Reduction in violence by about 10 percent. The number of assaults were reduced due to better placement of inmates based on a number of factors. In fact, the system uses at least 60 factors to determine appropriate inmate placement.
-Cost avoidance. Due to the system's ability to produce work in minutes rather than days, the Office of Population Management does not have to hire additional positions to keep up with their workload. Keep in mind that prior to this software use, it took one person five business days to plan for the following week's transport of 700 inmates.
-Reduction in treatment program waiting lists. Officials find that inmates, due to proper prison assignment, are completing prescribed programs about 53 days earlier, allowing them to be considered for parole by the Parole Board closer to their minimum sentence dates.
The group also discussed ongoing maintenance work with Lehigh University, as officials find the system needs minimal updates that are in line with the current maintenance contract. Any major upgrades may result in a new contract, following appropriate state bidding procedures.
"We just can't imagine returning to the previous way of doing things," Brown said.
Brown and Hendricks also said that while they use the system, it still requires human oversight because there are scenarios that a computer system just can't take into consideration.
"So, no one will ever be replaced by the system," Hendricks said. "But it certainly has greatly streamlined and improved our process, freeing up staff to perform other duties and projects."
Hendricks also wanted to give kudos to Program Analyst Jessica Campbell, who played a huge role in the project.