ATLANTA - The Georgia Department of Community Supervision (DCS) has been awarded the 2022 Corrections Information Technology Recognition Award by the Integrated Justice Information Systems Institute. This award honors a team achievement for technical innovation between industry partner(s) and one or more practitioner agency(ies) that significantly contributed to the advancement of corrections information technology in the public sector.

 

DCS Chief Information Officer, Mr. Phil Sellers, says that this is a joint award with public safety technology leader Axon that shines light on the impact of public-private partnerships. When receiving the award at a recent Washington D.C. ceremony, Sellers said, “For DCS, effective public private partnerships have been a key success factor. It has been critically important for us to find vendor partners who have the capability to integrate their technology with ours to provide the most seamless experience possible for our front line users and to provide better outcomes for those under our supervision.” 

 

Marketing Director for Axon, Victoria Shaw, adds that: “With their use of body-worn cameras and cloud-based technology, DCS is improving officer/supervisee interactions and relationships, is standardizing and measuring against an evidence-based methodology for community corrections, and is continuing to develop and improve best practices for work in the field. The positive impact of this approach benefits community safety and should be considered by other agencies throughout the country..”

 

Axon and DCS received the award for the Department’s innovative approach to body-worn cameras. While many law enforcement agencies use body cameras as a tool to address liability issues, DCS began its Body Camera Initiative (BCI) in 2015 primarily as a way to ensure fidelity to the evidence-based principles found in our Enhanced Supervision Program. Officers are required to wear their issued camera on their chest and record all meaningful events. Within 24 hours of the event, DCS personnel are able to review the footage of the officer’s interactions and provide direct feedback to help the officer improve their supervision techniques. 

 

This award furthers DCS’ vision of being a national leader in the community correction profession. Sellers sums up the recognition this way: “When I think back on my 33 years in this business it is truly amazing to me to see how far we have come. As a new probation officer, I was dealing with paper field books and using sheets of carbon paper to make copies. And now we are working in cloud-based case management systems, using body-worn video technologies to enhance our supervision practices, and we are on the cusp of implementing advanced technologies with Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning.”

 

About the Georgia Department of Community Supervision:  

It is the mission of the Georgia Department of Community Supervision to protect and serve all Georgia citizens through effective and efficient community supervision while providing opportunities for successful outcomes. DCS employs evidence-based practices to hold offenders accountable and reduce the state’s recidivism rate. For more information, visit dcs.georgia.gov.

 

Media Contacts:

Brian Tukes, Director of External Affairs

Georgia Department of Community Supervision

[email protected] 

470-217-6539

 

Jamelle Washington, Public Information Officer 

Georgia Department of Community Supervision

[email protected]

404-561-4590