CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Automated prison management system is the collection of register cases for each prisoner entering the prison for automated release diary generator. A good system for prison service should be automated, because it enhances the administrative and experience to design, develop and implement a prison management system for prison defense and security. 

In spite of the benefits of the use of computer to provide timely and accurate information, which is absent in most of Nigeria prison, it is not all problem arises as to how computer can be utilize that is programmed to achieve desire result.
The introduction of computer has brought many changes to various fields, such as prison, health sector, hotel, bank and in business sector generally. Just because it helps to carry out complex and lengthy analytical operation very rapidly to effective communication system, it is also time saving, versatile, flexible storage of large information and reduce human labour.
The prison is a very large yard where prisoners, warders and other prisons staff reside. Researchers, prison staffs like any other human will always latest technology in the field so as to reduce stress encountered in their fields. In developed countries of the world, people are already fighting on how prisoners can gain access to the internet in their cell room or their common room. This electronic technology offers the competitive speed which is important for the prisoners.
Imprisonment as a form of punishing offenders was not too many pre- colonial communities in Africa. The day sentence is pass to a person, is the day he/ she becomes a prisoners  even before getting to the fore walls of the prison yards. Immediately the sentence is passed, the prison officer becomes the middle men between the government and the prisoners. The prisoners on his/her own part will do any thing within his or her own limit to see that he does not spend a minutes beyond the sentenced given while government will not want to do away with prisoners until every bits of the jail terms or otherwise is completely secured.
The instrument used by the prison officer to see that both parties are satisfactorily treated this is the computation of sentence. Hence it is defined as the determination of the earliest day release (EDR) and latest day release (LDR) of the prisoners.
To this end, a micro computer based prison management system will be developing to practically alert the prison staff of the capability of a computer for effective services. In this project attention will be based on automated prison management system.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The manual method has over the year proven faculty. This is due to several reasons:

Inability to locate record: due to the fact that the records are so many, some of them are not located easily this happens especially when the order of arrangement. Bulky records: this is because the records are so many that they eventually take up a lot of unnecessary. Missing records: this is because the records are so many that they eventually tae up a lot of unnecessary. Difficulties are encountered in granting requests to people who come for investigation or research and prison staff.

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVE. 
The ultimate aim of the study is to automate the routine function of prison management system and overcome the problems associated with the present system.
The aim and objectives are to handle the following;
1. To improve the existing manuals system by introducing a computerized system.
2. To reduce human dependability and lapses.
3. To design a system for easy information storage update and retrieval.
4. Court report can be prepared easily.
5. To bring into focus the important of computer in prison management.
6. To improve the operational speed for faster calculation of sentences.
7. To provide facility for good access to date store in the data base.

1.4 PROJECT METHODOLOGY
This is the method, ruled or ways of collecting data of research. The project would be carried out by simulating a manual system with automated system. Electing all necessary information was done by interviewing some staffs. The aim of the survey (interview and inquiries) is to establish the existing utilization of computer by operators (prison management) if any, also to identify areas that do not already have computer and identify the barriers to owing and using computers. One of the staff that assisted in giving relevant information was A.C.P (assistance controller of prison)

1.5 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
The system scope of the prison is to attend to the welfare of prisoners and updating of information and enhance-the criminal investigation research e.tc the general information system will help to ensure that up –to-dated individual information of every prisoner is being maintained such as the cell number and other personal information relating to his date of release, how to locate such inmate and make him/ her available.

1.6 LIMITATION OF THE PROJECT
This research is based on prison management, but the system to design will be limited to the prisoners record keeping i.e. how the prison record can be stored, edited, updated and the security of the records.
The features of the new system are as follows.

o     It has segment that handles prisoner's family information.

o     It stored prisoner's profile.

o     It entails inmate court information.

o     It stores prisoner's information.

o     It stores prisoner's criminal records.