N.C. Department of
Correction--Correction News--April 1998
Computer System Allows Officers to Quickly
Notify Police of Escapes
"Four-nine-zero-one is the code for escape," said
Sgt. Andrea Judd as she sits down at her computer terminal in the
Randall Building. Judd and her staff run the Division of Criminal
Information terminal for the Division of Prisons. She’s one
of the first people notified when a prisoner escapes.
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When a call comes in, she immediately notes the
information, checks it against OPUS computer records and
types it into the DCI system. "The quicker prisons
relay information to one of the correctional officers
manning the DCI terminal, the quicker we can alert police
that we need their help in returning an escapee to
custody," said Judd. Once she is notified on an
escape, Judd quickly spreads the word. A few commands to
the computer and the escape alert shows up immediately on
hundreds of police computer terminals. Judd can notify
police in the community where the escape occurred, in the
community where the escapee lived before imprisonment and
in communities where there may be family or friends the
escapee may contact.
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In addition to getting information from the prison’s DC
145 escape report, Judd asks that prison staff send arrest
warrants for escapees as quickly as possible.
Police notify the DCI terminal operator when they’ve
taken an escapee into custody. In a matter of minutes, Judd
confirms the department is seeking the escapee, has an arrest
warrant and is willing to extradite offenders back to NC.
"If police departments request a copy of the warrant for
the escapee, we’re able to quickly fax it since prisons
supplied us with it at the time of escape," Judd said.
For four years, Judd has worked as a correctional sergeant.
She began her career in corrections at Hoke Correctional
Institution in 1990. She worked at Morrison Youth Institution
before being assigned to the Randall Building in 1994. She was
DCI certified in 1992.
NC DOC Correction News- April 1998
NC Department of Correction News
NC
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