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$1 Million Grant for Offender Tracking

On behalf of Gov. Mark Schweiker, Community and Economic Development Secretary Sam McCullough announced a $1 million community-development grant to Penn to create an offender tracking system that will provide law enforcement with timely and accurate risk assessments of offenders after they are released from prison.

"The safety and security of Pennsylvanians is Gov. Schweiker's top priority," Mr. McCullough said. "One way to ensure the safety of our citizens is to provide law enforcement with the tools they need to track offenders after they are released back into the community. By doing so, we can provide them with the necessary outreach and social services they need to adjust to their new environment and can protect the community by monitoring high-priority cases.

"Thanks to this new technology managed by the Lee Center of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania, we can move our current, inefficient paper tracking system to a computerized system that will be more reliable and accessible."

"This grant will allow Penn to develop crime-fighting partnerships with a wide range of organizations, "said Lawrence W. Sherman, director of the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology. "Using the best research and analytic tools available, we can test new strategies for helping ex-offenders to lead law-abiding lives."

This project seeks to create a unified offender tracking system for outreach to offenders by merging data obtained from the State Police, the PA Department of Corrections, the FBI and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. By becoming a designated agent of all the law-enforcement agencies for confidential processing of data, the Lee Center of Criminology can provide the entire system with information that would include a list of the most likely and most serious repeat offenders who require preventive action. Social-service and law-enforcement agencies will review the success or failure of prior efforts to prevent repeat offending by people identified for intensive action. With a weekly update of the highest-risk offenders, a city can mobilize a wide range of organizations to prevent crime.

The grant is funded through the Community Revitalization Program, which supports local initiatives to improve and enhance communities and their local economies.


Almanac, Vol. 48, No. 25, March 5, 2002

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS:

Tuesday,
March 5, 2002
Volume 48 Number 25
www.upenn.edu/almanac/

Rising health care costs and Penn's health care benefits compared to others in Philadelphia and nationally.
The Lee Center for Criminology will create a computerized offender tracking system to help law enforcement.
Penn Police has a procedure for filing complaints against police but the UA recommends the creation of a Community Review Board.
What's in a name? The new prek-8 school wants input.
ISC Networking and Telecommunications service and rate changes go into effect July including the elimination of the Express Modem Pool.