A Case Management System (CMS) is used in a variety of law enforcement settings to facilitate the recording of case proceedings and evidentiary documents within an IT database, enabling information sharing internally within an agency and between agencies that comprise the criminal justice system. A basic capability of a CMS is to facilitate tracking and reporting of cases. In the case of an investigative agency, a CMS provides a high level overview of the number and status of ongoing cases (e.g., number of cases being investigated or prosecuted and the personnel working on them etc.). A further function of a CMS is to mirror the workflow process of a case from the receipt of an allegation or complaint through pre-investigation and investigation, prosecution and the eventual outcome (judgments, sentences) of a case and, where applicable, the asset tracing recovery proceedings. The benefit of a CMS following the lifecycle of a case is that it can serve as a tool to facilitate the handling of cases in a systematic fashion, their progression from one stage to another stage with the appropriate approvals, and in addition, the management and monitoring of personnel allocation for a case, e.g., across the region or nationally.
Fig. 2: Benefits of a using an automated computerised case management system
The CMS achieves a higher level of sophistication by incorporating features such as: - Facilitate the sharing of information. For example, it could provide the
capability to store and readily access data related to a case such as a synopsis of a case, witness statements, records of interviews and evidentiary documents.
- Facilitate the investigation process. For example, it can have access to third party agency data sources such as Citizen Identification (ID) lists, property and land registry databases, police electronic records of arrests/convictions, Court Dockets, Office for Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) lists, etc. These data sources can be used to assist investigators and prosecutors in obtaining background information early on regarding individuals and companies, and link information about individuals and companies across cases in a secure manner which preserves the integrity of the investigation and prosecution. - Provide a methodical process flow with checklists and steps required by
there are certain recommended steps to perform when an investigator is trying to obtain International Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA). The CMS could either have ‘How To’ guides embedded in the system that provide guidance, or it could require the investigator to answer a series of questions to record that certain tasks have been performed. These examples of more complicated CMS capabilities come with a cost in terms of time to design, develop and implement. Eventually, this could, however, lead to a dynamic process tool.
- Prevent unauthorised tampering (i.e., removing, replacing, etc.) of files, ensuring the integrity of evidence with system-wide audit trails.
- Introduce advanced analytics including trend spotting, efficiency assessments and comparative analysis.
Fig. 3: Shows increasing complexity of a CMS beginning with a baseline system with minimal features to a full blown investigative tool with workflows spanning multiple agencies and sharing of information across cases.
1. Audience for a CMS
CMSs are useful to a number of organisations, ranging from anti-corruption commissions, investigating agencies, prosecutors to the judiciary.3 The nature and
function of the systems can differ widely from organisation to organisation depending on what the system is used for. An investigative agency will store the evidence and leads and organise the case data in an electronic and secure content management system. They will need to update the case as it progresses through the intelligence cycle. However, a court case management system may only track the progress of the case the moment it is scheduled for hearing. No evidentiary documents or testimonies are stored and disseminated but just the schedule, the case status, caseload, etc. are tracked in such a system. Prosecutors, on the other hand, will use a CMS to prepare a whole case docket with all the required documentation to bring it to trial. The point that must be mentioned here is that all these different agencies could be using different systems but they have to be inter-operable and data in some form should be exchanged otherwise the benefits of electronic case management cannot be fully realised.4 The
3 Increasing the effectiveness of courts can reduce both the incentives and opportunities for judicial corruption. Measures that typically fall within the ambit of ‘institutional strengthening’ include: Introducing information and communication technologies, including case management systems; U4 Brief: UNCAC and Judicial Corruption, September 2009.
4 A classic problem plaguing Indonesia’s Criminal Justice System is the chronic lack of coordination within the system, particularly between the police and the state prosecutor’s office (Fast-tracking Anticorruption Management, The Jakarta Post, 18 June 2007).
use of a well-designed and inter-operable CMS for effective management and tracking of cases while ensuring the integrity and security of case data is hence essential.
2. Steps for CMS adoption
New organisations adopting IT systems for case management have to undertake a series of steps:
- Perform a needs analysis and create a business case for deploying a CMS in an organisation
- Identify stakeholders and gather requirements, perform business analysis and develop use cases
- Document workflows and case processes
- Improve the processes with best practices: process streamlining - Obtain management support and funding
- Create specifications for a working prototype
- Identify partners or vendors that offer CMS solutions: pilot a sample system - Develop or customise an off-the-shelf solution
- Deploy solution and train users
- Survey usage, obtain feedback and fine-tune system to meet requirements - Start with a simple solution and deliver increasing complexity and features in
phases over time and after usage
- User participation from an initial stage is critical for successful implementation
- Develop migration plan for data from legacy systems, including strategies how to incorporate paper-based data into the CMS
3. Technical pre-requisites for CMS adoption
A basic IT set-up is required to implement IT-based CMSs consisting of the following: - A high-availability, fault-tolerant and secure computer network is required
for an IT CMS to be deployed
- Secure e-mail and collaboration systems. Often e-mail and daily work calendars are an essential information component that reflect day-to-day activities in respect of a case. These have to be integrated into the CMS. E- mail communication has to be archived as part of the chain of custody
- Adequate server hardware capacity to support the user base, and provide quick access to information, archival facility and backups
- A reliable and secure operating system and software technology that support open standards for data exchange and inter-connectivity
- Trained IT personnel or a service provider to design and deploy a CMS, train and support the user base
A range of activities is necessary to plan and organise a CMS. The streamlining of existing manual and computerised processes must be initiated, procedures documented and the technical issues associated with implementing a CMS defined: information system, storage, retrieval, archival, security, computer networks, hardware/software,
capacity to record evidence and other case information digitally and securely, providing role based access control. The role of shared documentation spaces to help collaboration and training must be discussed, and solution design, technical architecture, project implementation plan, budgets, consultants, product vendors and expert resources which are required, initiated. The following steps describe the considerations in further detail:
- Evaluate and list all business processes (manual processes, information registers, dockets etc.)
- Information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure - architecture, design, procurement, implementation with security considerations (secure e- mail, secure file sharing and collaboration, secure access to databases and case files, evidence, case dockets, etc.)
- Electronic access to legal databases, case law, sentences, court records, court calendar. Access to other databases on individuals, real estate, properties, vehicles, biometric data, if available, that can be used by prosecutors while guiding an investigation
- Technical architecture of how all these databases can be created and accessed securely on proper communication and network channels
- Choice of technologies, vendors, consultants, governance of projects and project management
- Use of best practices: software engineering principles and processes
- Case management functions (preparation of documents, office work automation, work flow, notifications, reminders for court dates, shared team calendar, general statistics and caseload statistics and management reports) - Inter-operability issues: integration and flow of information between the
investigators/prosecutor’s office and with other judicial levels such as the court of appeal; and integration across branches of the criminal justice system and law enforcement such as police/intelligence, prosecutor’s offices and judiciary
High profile corruption cases often require the compilation of an MLA request for multi-jurisdictional and international cases – a CMS will enable quicker turn-around and standardisation of sending and receiving international requests.