(a) When a convicted person is committed to an institution under the jurisdiction of the department, any presentence or post-sentence investigation or psychological evaluation compiled by a probation supervisor or other probation official shall be forwarded to any division or office designated by the commissioner. Accompanying this document or evaluation will be the case history form and the criminal history sheets from the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Georgia Crime Information Center, if available, unless any such information has previously been sent to the department pursuant to Code Section 42-5-50. A copy of these same documents shall be made available for the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. A copy of one or more of these documents, based on need, may be forwarded to another institution to which the defendant may be committed.

(b) The prison or institution receiving these documents shall maintain the confidentiality of the documents and the information contained therein and shall not send them or release them or reveal them to any other person, institution, or agency without the express consent of the probation unit which originated or accumulated the documents.