$1 Billion Offender Database Plans Scaled Back

LONDON — The Ministry of Justice scaled back plans to create an integrated prison and probation database for England and Wales after project costs doubled to $998 million.

Originally projected to cost approximately $476 million, the C-Nomis project was intended to provide offender management by establishing a single, comprehensive, up-to-date profile of offenders, officials say.

Under the proposed plan, more than 200 prison and probation service databases throughout England and Wales were to be consolidated into one system, allowing prison and probation staff to monitor offender sentences, supervision and rehabilitation requirements and progress, and to share information in real time, officials say.

Following a recent review and audit of the offender-monitoring project, only the prison service in England and Wales will receive the C-Nomis system, which will contain information about each offender’s offenses, sentences, risks and court proceedings, officials say.

The system will also contain information about nationality, ethnicity, disabilities, place of residence, and education and employment history.

Under the revised plan, the more than 40 probation areas in England and Wales will have read-only access to the system. Currently operating in three prisons, C-Nomis will be introduced throughout the system in phases.