Design and Implementation of an Online Prison Management System (a Case Study of Nigeria Prison Service Enugu)
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
The main purpose behind the implementation of the Prison Management System (PMS) was to enhance the administrative capabilities of the jails in terms of monitoring and security of the prison while improving the efficiency and productivity of the Prisons. The main goals of the project are enunciated below:
- To ensure proper monitoring of the prisons by the top officials
- To ensure that the discipline and decorum of the jails is maintained by both the employees and the prisoners
- To ensure that no impersonation of the prisoners happens by proper validation and authentication of the prisoner’s identity
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The introduction of computer into information technology has massively improved the information need of organization; the success of this machine is dependent on the knowledge base.
A database is an organized collection of data. The data is typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality, in a way that supports processes requiring this information.
Database management systems (DBMS) are specially designed applications that interact with the user, other applications, and the database itself to capture and analyze data. A general-purpose database management system (DBMS) is a software system designed to allow the definition, creation, querying, update, and administration of databases. A database is not generally portable across different DBMS, but different DBMS can inter-operate by using standards such as SQL and ODBC or JDBC to allow a single Database management system is typical information processing system or organizational information system on people’s information. World Net describes an information system (I.S) as “a system consisting of the network of all communication channels used within an organization, and includes software and hardware”. It may also be defined as “a system that collects and processes data (information) and provides it to mangers at all levels that use it for decision making, planning, program implementation and control.
The aim of information system in immigration is improving the quality and accuracy of information provided to all involved as well as assisting management in compiling and reporting information.
Computerization is a social process for providing access to and support for computer equipment to be used in activities such as teaching, accounting, writing, designing, circuits, file processing etc. computerization entails social choices about the levels of appropriate investment and control over equipment and expertise, as well as choices of equipment.
Dunlop and Kling (1991), by the early 1990s, computing and telecommunications accounted for half of the capital investments made by private firms. However, paper (1980), Feigenbaum and McCorduck (1983) and Yourdon (1986) stated that the most fervent advocates of computerization have argued that the actual pace of computerization in schools, factories and homes is too slow.
King (1986), others emphasize a labour-market pragmatism that we label “vocational matching”. In this view, people will need computer skills, such as programming, to compete in future labour markets and to participate in a highly automated society; a responsible school will teach some of these skills today. Kling (1986), advocate of computer- based education promote a utopian image of computer- using schools as places where students learn in a cheerful, cooperative setting and where all teachers can be supportive, enthusiastic mentors.
Therefore, a computerized database management system is usually a system, which is implemented with a computer to achieve the utmost efficiency and desired goals.
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY AND SYSTEM ANALYSIS
Methodology is the systematic, theoretical analysis of the methods applied to a field of study, or the theoretical analysis of the body of methods and principles associated with a branch of knowledge.
GENERAL ANALYSIS OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM
Management of prison’s in Nigeria is still at a nascent stage and follows rudimentary processes. Most of the prisons in Nigeria such as the Nigerian prison service Enugu, have a collection of manual files and registers to store prisoner/criminal records. This is a very inefficient and cumbersome way of storing records which greatly impedes the flow of critical information as well as makes looking up of information time consuming. Also, different files and registers are required to store the information which is relevant to a single prisoner. This hinders the profiling process of prisoners.
CHAPTER FOUR
SYSTEM DESIGN
System design is the process of creating a blue print for the proposed system in other words a prototype for the proposed system.
OBJECTIVE OF DESIGN
The system designed aimed at developing an online system that can be used by
Nigerian prison to keep track of prison records. Security of the database used in the
design was highly taken care of by the website developed. The objective of the design includes:
- Design software that can be used to stored prisoners information on database. · Structure a database system that will store all the information. · Design a query system to retrieve specified prisoners information · Design a well formatted output that will present information in a meaningful format.
CHAPTER FIVE
SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING
System implementation is the process of defining the user requirements and designing a system to meet them. Testing on the other hand is the process of testing the newly developed system to ensure the hardware and the operating software is properly installed and configured ensuring other system parameters are properly established.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
In order to realize this project, the following software and hardware components were used:
CHAPTER SIX
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY
It has now become essential to embrace the new technologies in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for the development ,
modernization, advancement of prisons. Internetworking of all the jails across Nigeria for sharing of information related to prison inmates who had been lodged in various jails of the country should improve the law and order within the state.
It is recommended that Enugu State Prisons be pioneer in this area and they have shown it through their IT setup, a role model for other states and even other countries. It is likely that this may be replicated in the whole country.
CONCLUSION
Management of prisons as well as prison records is a vital aspect in the national security which becomes all the more important in the current volatile security situation. Prison management in Nigeria is still in a nascent stage using manual system of files and folders to store and organize prison record. This system is inefficient as well as looking up of specific information is cumbersome and tedious. This greatly impedes the flow of critical information. All these deficiencies are removed using the online Prison Management System. PMS effectively stores all the information in neat prison profiles which have all the necessary information about a prisoner as well as his/her finger print signature attached with the profile. ID numbers can be used as a search key to identify prison records by comparing them with external database that are found at crime scene. All these improvements greatly reduce the time at which specific information is delivered to concerned agencies.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Currently the Prison Management System can only be deployed for a single prison. But the system has the scope to be developed as a distributed application where each implementation of PMS in different prisons can be connected and communicate with each other. In such a scenario a person sitting in Enugu prison can access the data of Abuja central jail. This will make the whole system highly centralized as well as well connected. This will provide the end user who has the necessary security clearance a single portal where he/she can access prison records from all major prisons in Nigeria where the PMS would be deployed thus making it a truly practical deployable application which can be used in prisons all over Nigeria.
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