Public sector

Illinois reforms criminal justice system

15 February 2013

The Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) has implemented the Offender-360 project, a cloud-based criminal justice information system built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

This public-private partnership is the state’s first cloud-based deployment,

Illinois DOC is undergoing a phased rollout, anticipating 5,500 users of Offender-360 by the summer of 2013.

This cutting-edge technology will give Illinois one of the most advanced criminal justice information systems in the country

Pat Quinn, Illinois Governor Dynamics CRM Online centralises all information and intelligence on offenders to help staff make more effective and informed decisions regarding placement, rehabilitation and release.

The solution directly supports legislation signed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn that aims to improve Illinois public safety and criminal justice for the future.

“This cutting-edge technology will give Illinois one of the most advanced criminal justice information systems in the country,” Quinn said. “It will save Illinois’ taxpayers millions of dollars while increasing public safety throughout the state.”

The Illinois DOC cited the Microsoft Dynamics CRM offering as an application platform that can support modernisation initiatives and still achieve impactful, low-cost results.

“The open architecture in Microsoft Dynamics lets us create a solution that enables analysis to more effectively serve our offender population,” said Steven Matthews, chief information officer, Illinois DOC. “Because of budget constraints and a shortfall of infrastructure and personnel resources to support this enterprise-level application, we launched the state’s first cloud initiative. This allows us to cut costs while continuing to achieve the mission with a security-enhanced solution.”

With guidance from Tribridge, the Illinois DOC was able to configure, develop and deploy the robust and flexible architecture of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online through trained and certified union members, significantly reducing the Offender-360 solution cost and deployment timeframe.

In 2010, the state evaluated its technology landscape for managing its 49,000 inmates and 28,000 parolees with the goal of transforming the Illinois DOC by improving efficiency, reducing costs and ensuring unwavering corrections operations.

As a result of the evaluation, Illinois charted a course toward replacing a large 1980s mainframe system and 41 disparate offender management applications that had become outdated and costly to use and maintain.

“Illinois is leading the nation in adopting a state-wide, cloud-based solution that will effectively manage the offender population and ultimately better protect its citizens,” said Amir Capriles, general manager, US Public Sector Dynamics at Microsoft. “Illinois is a leader among its peers, demonstrating that criminal justice programs across the country can be transformed by modernising legacy systems with cloud-based solutions while supporting necessary security, business processes and legislation.”

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