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This paper is focused on the Pennsylvania Additive Classification Tool (PACT) used to classify prisoners\u2019 custody levels while they are incarcerated. Algorithms that are used during incarceration warrant deeper attention by scholars because they have the power to enact the lived reality of the prisoner. The algorithm in this case determines the likelihood a person would endure additional disciplinary actions, can complete required programming, and gain experiences that, among other things, are distilled into variables feeding into the parole algorithm. Given such power, examining algorithms used on people currently incarcerated offers a unique analytic view to think about the dialectic relationship between data and algorithms. Our examination of the PACT is two-fold and complementary. First, our qualitative overview of the historical context surrounding PACT reveals that it is designed to prioritize incapacitation and control over rehabilitation. While it closely informs prisoner rehabilitation plans and parole considerations, it is rooted in population management for prison securitization. Second, on analyzing data for 146,793 incarcerated people in PA, along with associated metadata related to the PACT, we find it is replete with racial bias as well as errors, omissions, and inaccuracies. Our findings to date further caution against data-driven criminal justice reforms that rely on pre-existing data infrastructures and expansive, uncritical, data-collection routines. <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/20539517221094002","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,11]],"date-time":"2022-05-11T07:14:44Z","timestamp":1652253284000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Carceral algorithms and the history of control: An analysis of the Pennsylvania additive classification tool"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3075-1273","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vanessa A.","family":"Massaro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Geography, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, United States"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6482-5816","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Swarup","family":"Dhar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Computer Science, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, United States"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2089-2352","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Darakhshan","family":"Mir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Computer Science, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, United States"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4947-586X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nathan C.","family":"Ryan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mathematics, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, United States"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-20539517221094002","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.17265\/2159-5313\/2016.09.003"},{"key":"bibr2-20539517221094002","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2043820613514323"},{"key":"bibr3-20539517221094002","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1745-9125.2006.00044.x"},{"key":"bibr4-20539517221094002","unstructured":"Belair RR, Woodard PL, Johnson EC (2001) Use and Management of Criminal History Record Information: A Comprehensive Report. 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