Date

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Science

Department

Industrial Engineering

First Adviser

Terlaky, Tamas

Abstract

The Inmate Transportation Problem (ITP) is a common complex problem in any correctional system. In this project we studied the present policies and practices used by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PADoC) to transport inmates between 25 different state Correctional Institutions (CIs) across the state of Pennsylvania. As opposed to the current practice of manually deciding about transportation we propose a mathematical optimization approach.We develop a weighted multi-objective mixed integer linear optimization (MILO) model. The MILO model optimizes the transportation of the inmates within a correctional system. Particularly, the MILO model assigns inmates, who needs to be transported from a particular CI to another, to routes and vehicles while considering all legal restrictions and best business practices. By using real data instances, we tested the performance of the MILO model and show that the transportation need in a correctional system can be organized efficiently using classic vehicle routing and assignment optimization models. As a proof of concept, this master's thesis proves that operations research is an effective tool to solve a complicated business problem in a correctional system, and save significant time and money along with ensuring safety of people involved in transportation.

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