December 15, 2003

PETS Program Rollout – State of Wisconsin

On December 1^st, 2003, the Badger State Sheriff’s Association, with the cooperation and support of the Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections, the Office of Justice Assistance, and Emerald Systems Inc., rolled out the PETS (Prisoner Exchange and Transportation Scheduling) program statewide. Training was provided at four selected locations throughout the state in November. PETS, developed by Emerald Systems Inc., is a unique web based program that supports both intra and interstate scheduling and transportation of prisoners between local, state, and federal correctional facilities. PETS provides a web portal to county sheriffs and jail administrators making it easy to schedule and coordinate the movement of prisoners. Coordinating the transportation process and eliminating unnecessary trips saves officer time, officer overtime, per diem expense, vehicle maintenance and vehicle costs. In addition, it puts officers back on the street.

PETS provides key features such as –

• calendar view for quick link access to daily transports
• schedule and update trips

• create a request for pickup or transfer
• view and approve requests for coordinated transfers
• create a trip report that reflects all prisoners and their pick up and drop off points
• invoice agencies for transportation expense
• view reports of trip costs and savings 

PETS provides unique capabilities such as auto e-mail notifications, automated cancellation processes, special services that eliminate duplicative efforts and a user directory for reference. In addition, PETS provides a special database application that allows agencies to both post and view bed space requirements and availability. Such combined capabilities allow agencies to maximize resources in the movement and housing of inmates. PETS is developed on Microsoft’s .NET technology. When integrated with SAFE, a secure .NET messaging and document management program, PETS fully automates the scheduling and movement of inmates and their documents.

Emerald Systems Inc. is a Microsoft Government Partner and a member of the US Dept. of Justice IJIS Institute. For additional information on Emerald Systems Inc. and its products, please view our web site at http://www.emeraldsys.com/; e-mail sales@emeraldsys.com; or, contact us at Emerald Systems Inc., 201 Walnut St., Spooner, WI  54801. Phone: 715-635-9447