Department of Corrections Probation Offices Saving $700,000 Annually by Scanning Inactive Records

Department of Corrections probation offices have begun a statewide effort to scan thousands of inactive offender files that will ultimately result in annual savings close to three quarters of a million dollars. By law, inactive probationer files must be maintained for three years after supervision has terminated.

The bulk of the savings is from the estimated 37,000 feet of office space throughout the state being used to store the files, which is leased at an estimated $536,000 annually. Additional savings in postage, estimated at $130,000 to $150,000, and office supplies, well in excess of $30,000, will also be realized annually.

“Not only are we saving money on office space and supplies, but having the records imaged makes them more accessible for probation and prison staff,” said Department of Corrections Secretary Edwin Buss.

A pilot program to scan inactive files was launched in May 2010 in the Sebring and Sanford probation offices. The Department purchased two Kodak scanners and two personal computers for the project, and dedicated two entry-level positions to the effort. By August, 2, 500 inactive offender files had already been successfully imaged in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format. The quality and accessibility of the files imaged was evident, so efforts were focused on statewide implementation.

Other benefits of imaging these files include:

• Making the files available electronically to both probation and prison staff if the offender becomes active in another county, or goes to prison.
• Freeing up additional office space where files were previously stored so officers sharing offices or housed in conference rooms can be moved to an office.
• Reducing the amount of square footage necessary for future office bids.
• Saving time and expense previously used to label, mail, box and transport files.
• Saving $130,000 - $150,000 a year in postage previously required to mail inactive files to storage areas.
• Re-using file folders when generating new offender files. In the Orlando area alone, more than 28,000 offender files were ordered during 2008-09 fiscal year.

Approximately 90,000 offenders terminate probation every year and there are more than 180,000 offenders on community supervision in Florida.