1. PRISON MANAGEMENT PROMISING PRACTICE: OFFENDER MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM [1.5] The Offender Management Information System (OMIS) of the Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) has been described as a system that “has potential and realistic applicability for any corrections and prison service in the developing world… [b]ecause it has been designed in modular format to be easily customisable, it represents an affordable solution to address the information needs of correctional and prison systems in any developing nation.”21 1 In summary, the identified benefits of OMIS are that it: – Reduces the redundancy and inconsistency of information; – Increases the accuracy of information; – Minimizes the possibility of data loss; – Ensures that all entries to the system are recorded and monitored; – Avoids the possibility of duplication and misidentification of prisoners; The OMIS is a web-based electronic data – Enables controlled or restricted access; management system that allows prison staff to – Allows for regular production of monitoring both electronically store and retrieve prisoner reports; details throughout the term of their imprisonment. – Enables automated alerts, for example court It was developed by the NCS with limited dates and medical appointments; resources. An article about the system suggests – Assists in rehabilitation, for example by tracking that “other African jurisdictions, as well as other participation in training programmes; and developing nations in other parts of the world, – Allows access to critical information at any time, could easily emulate the experience of the including through smart devices.23 22 Namibian Correctional Service.” OMIS was first implemented in 2013 and is Recognizing that, in many jurisdictions, operational in all 13 correctional facilities in information about prisoners is still recorded manually on pieces of paper or manual registers, Namibia, covering around 4,500 prisoners. It was the article notes that most developing correctional developed as part of a broader correctional reform initiative, endorsed by the Namibian government, systems find it hard to implement reforms because they are not able to conduct operational which emphasized proper risk and needs assessments, and improved rehabilitation and and strategic analysis of prison trends, which reintegration of prisoners. could identify areas for improvement. 18 In the case of Namibia, before the introduction of OMIS, prison administrations found it difficult to verify the reliability or accuracy of data on each prisoner or to track their behaviour during imprisonment. OMIS consists of core modules including, for example, admissions, reception and assessment, health management, case management, rehabilitation activities, institutional incidents, visits, transfers, pre-release, sentence changes and release. Recognizing that not all users within correctional facilities know how to use a computer, relevant staff also received comprehensive training on how to use the system. 21 22 23 Collecting and publishing data on prison trends 53 In order for data to be useful in informing criminal policy and preventing human rights violations, they must include reliable data on a broad range of trends, such as the numbers of deaths and serious injuries, and data on the profile of prison populations, including, for example, the changing age profile of the population and levels of overcrowding.24 54 It is good practice to keep a central register of restrictions placed on prisoners for security reasons, in particular the use of solitary confinement and other forms of involuntary separation from the general prison population.25 21. Kathuria Porporino, Change in African Corrections: From incarceration to reintegration, Implementing Information Technology for Corrections in Africa: A Case Example of the Namibian Correctional Service Automated Offender Management Information System, Acta Criminologica: Southern African Journal of Criminology, Special Edition, No. 2, 2015, pp. 1–21. 22. Ibid. 23. A smart device is an electronic device, generally connected to other devices or networks via different wireless protocols that can operate to some extent interactively and autonomously. Several notable types of smart devices are smartphones and tablets, smartwatches, smart bands and smart key chains. 24. Essex paper 3, Penal Reform International and the University of Essex, op. cit., note 4, p. 34. 25. See for example: Report to the Turkish Government on the visit to Turkey carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), 8 December 2005, CPT/Inf (2005) 18, para. 89. Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules