October 24, 2014
Georgia’s Parole Board awarded the 2014 Excalibur Award
Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) awards prestigious Excalibur Award to the State Board of Pardons and Paroles
ATLANTA, GA – The Technology Association of Georgia has awarded their prestigious Excalibur Award to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles.
The annual Excalibur Award celebrates Georgia companies and organizations that demonstrate the best use of technology, typically provided by a third-party, to solve complex issues and processes in business and education.
The Georgia Parole Board was selected for its use of advanced voice recognition technology, provided by Georgia based AnyTrax, to reduce the workload of the parole officer, redirect resources to focus on higher risk/higher needs offenders, and to improve accurate communication between parolees and their officers.
The Parole Board’s Executive Director, Michael Nail stated, “Working with AnyTrax, high level cases are monitored more efficiently without any specialized equipment, lowering costs to parolees so they may more readily pay fines, fees and child support, and reducing these costs to Georgia taxpayers to zero. Our hard-working parole officers have more time to devote to higher risk cases, where it needs to be spent, increasing the safety of Georgia’s citizens.”
The Parole Board was selected over two other award finalists; the American Cancer Society, which utilized technology as part of an initiative to share fundraising ideas, compare notes, and discuss goal challenges, and Emory University, in which the university’s strategic consulting unit developed a solution to facilitate grant review and reconciliation.
State Board of Pardons and Paroles
The State Board of Pardons and Paroles is a part of the executive branch of Georgia's government, constitutionally authorized to grant paroles, pardons, reprieves, remissions, commutations, and restore civil and political rights. The Parole Board has five members appointed by the Governor to staggered seven year terms. Parole is the discretionary decision of the Board (by majority vote) to release an offender from prison confinement after serving an appropriate portion of a prison sentence.
The Parole Board is an integral component of the Criminal Justice System, focusing on public safety through informed released decisions and effective parole supervision. Offenders granted parole are under state supervision according to conditions, which if violated, allow for return to prison. Paroled offenders account for 10% of Georgia's offender population, with over 25,000 parolees under supervision. For more information please visit: www.pap.georgia.gov.
The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)
The Technology Association of Georgia has 24,000 members representing over 2,000 tech and tech-enabled companies. TAG is a leader in the technology industry, connecting people to FORTUNE 500 companies, investors, government and civic leaders, service providers and entrepreneurs. TAG is headquartered in Atlanta and has chapters in greater Augusta, Columbus, Middle Georgia, Savannah, and Athens. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org.