KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 12
The Department of Prison Management has implemented computer-based Prison Management Information System to maintain records of prison employees and inmates in prisons across the country.
According to a three-monthly report published by the DoPM on its website, the PMIS will eliminate the risk of mouse or termite infestation on paper documents and ensure that information regarding prison employees and inmates or prisoners may be retrieved as and when required without any difficulty.
The PMIS system reduces the need for physical storage spaces and enhances the productivity of the office. It would also help us search for documents and records without rummaging through piles of dust-covered files.
An official at the DoMPM said the PMIS was also aimed at enhancing security of records and streamlining work flow of the office by making it easier to store, share and access data. The DoPM under the Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for ensuring safe custody, welfare, rehabilitation and reformation of inmates. "We were in dire need of a central monitoring and information system for proper record-keeping amid frequent loss of prisoner's data and redundancy of information," he said.
With the full-fledged implementation of the PMIS, the prison offices throughout the country can now share a common database and update records of jailbirds in real time. It is for internal purpose only, and the DoPM and jail administrators are its users. The PMIS would help the users know the number of inmates and employees in any prison of the country. The record is updated in real time soon after transfer and addition of inmates as well the employees.
The digital system also provides information about individual prisoners with their name, offence, citizenship and sentence period, among others, apart from updating the details of jailbirds who have been released or granted amnesty. The country has 74 prisons in 77 districts.
Bhaktapur, Bara and Dhanusha do not have any prison, while Kathmandu and Dang have two prisons each.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 13, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
