Using Technology to Improve Process: Automated Presentence Report

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

The Presentence Division of the Maricopa County Adult Probation Department (APD) is staffed by officers, screeners, and management committed to thorough investigation and accurate reporting in support of evidence-based sentencing within the fourth-most populous county in the United States. Until December 2016 paper reports compiled from online and printed sources were the norm. Duplicate data was entered multiple times throughout the preparation process, quality assurance was limited to human review processes, and the distribution of reports to the Court and other stakeholders was cumbersome and subject to error. The development of the Integrated Court Information System Next Generation (iCISng) and its newly-established connectivity with the Adult Probation Enterprise Tracking System (APETS) cleared the way for collaboration between the APD and its technology partners within the County in pursuit of a better way. This partnership led to the creation of the automated Presentence Report (ePSR) and its merger with the nascent Electronic Sentencing Application (eSentencing). The ePSR represents nothing less than a revolutionary advancement in the preparation and delivery of presentence investigation reports, leading to improvements in quality assurance, efficiency, resource conservation, and other areas.