DOJ launches prison record system based on biometrics

No more overstaying inmates.

This was the assurance given by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima following last week’s launch of what was believed to be the first-ever biometrics-based prison records system.

De Lima said in an interview after the ceremonies at the Bureau of Corrections in Muntinlupa City that the Inmate Management Information System (IMIS) would, among others, address the delay in the release of inmates due to lost or misplaced records.

Instead of relying on “hard copies,” all the information on an inmate would be automated under the IMIS.

According to a press release, apart from allowing the “live capturing of inmates’ biometric information,” the IMIS enables the “automated computation” of their remaining period of confinement, taking into consideration their Good Conduct Time Allowance credits, if any.

“Inmates with expired sentences should not be allowed to stay a day longer than the expiry date. With this system, that will be a reality,” De Lima said.

A demonstration of the program during the launch showed that once the fingerprints of incoming inmates were scanned, the IMIS could show whether they had been previously confined in any penal facility under IMIS. It would also show whether they used an alias or their real name.

It was unclear, however, which penal facilities apart from the NBP were already covered by the system.–Kristine Felisse Mangunay