Managing probation programs with geographic information systems

Ar a time when funding for probation does not catch up with the growth in caseloads, probation programs need to adopt new technology, such as geographic information systems (GIS), to increase their management efficiency. We discuss our implementation of a GIS to support management of the probation program in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. GIS provides a set of efficient tools for data integration mapping, and analysis. Furthermore, it allows probation officers to understand their clients and plan their tasks better. As a decision support system, GIS integrates information from various sources and makes them readily available to probation officers. As a data analysis tool GIS enables probation officers to study the profiles of their clients with only minimal efforts. As a task management assistant, GIS supports a wide variety of alternatives in storing or updating records and planning activities. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.