Legislative audit of Nevada prisoners’ information finds few errors

CARSON CITY — An audit released Monday found few inmates whose releases were delayed because of sentencing errors inappropriately entered into in a Department of Corrections computer system.

The audit of the Department of Corrections — Accuracy of Criminal History Information by the Legislative Audit Division — showed that most of the errors in the Nevada Offender Tracking Information System were related to current offense dates, which affected a small number of cases.

Even so, for 1 percent of the 300 inmates tested, errors did affect when the inmates were released, the audit said. In two cases, inmates were released a few months early. One inmate had his parole hearing delayed by about 10 months.

“In addition, the Department (of Corrections) identified an instance where an inmate was released about 14 months after his eligible release date because of an error in NOTIS,” the audit said. “However, the department promptly took action to identify and correct the problem before it could impact other inmates.”

The audit reviewed inmate information in NOTIS from June 2007 to October. The audit found that criminal history information reported to the Parole Board is not always accurate. Although
13 percent of reports tested had errors, the errors did not have any consequences because the Parole Board corrected the information before using it.

“We also found the department effectively resolved offenders’ grievances related to their criminal history information,” the report said.

The report found that all but one of 57 grievances tested were resolved fairly and appropriately, although the department did not always respond within established timeframes.

Contact reporter Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.