Solving Crimes and Saving Lives with Paperless Police Investigations
When most Americans think of English crime investigations, they conjure quaint visions of a legendary houndstooth-clad investigator who smokes a drop-stem pipe and wears a deerstalker cap. The image invokes thoughts of simpler times, when police departments had a secret weapon to ensure that they were able to solve crimes and capture perpetrators. Nowadays times are not so simple—especially in municipal London.
In this day and age, English police forces handle criminal investigations ranging from nuisance calls and domestic violence to kidnapping, armed robbery, rape, and murder. One police department recently converted an outdated and error-prone system with which it used to conduct investigations. Now it is able to solve crimes and save lives with DocFinity®—a powerful document management software system that is engineered to face the challenges of the 21st century and is anything but fictitious.
Background
The Communications Unit of the police department handles in excess of 50,000 applications for communications data per year, which are created by fraud squads, constables, kidnapping units, murder units, and others. These applications request data such as cell phone records of suspected criminals. They cover an area of more than 500 square miles and a population of several million.
Communications gathers empirical evidence from various UK telecommunications providers, supplying investigation teams with tactical, technical, legal, and procedural support. It is a very small unit with massive impact. Communications’ Specialist Crime Directorate Team recently increased in size from about six people four and a half years ago to a staff of forty-three, as it had become evident that acquisition of data led to quicker arrests. Concurrent with the team’s growth was the realization that a more efficient system was needed to organize data.
Historically, the system had suffered from inaccuracy and inefficiency. It used to be that applications were made on MS Word documents, which were subsequently faxed to the Communications Unit. Under the old system, thousands of faxes were lost or misplaced each year. Data was then manually re-keyed into a different (and very limited) software package. Precision was imperative—if one digit was transposed incorrectly, a surveillance team could have potentially been dispatched to the wrong location. Very little help or guidance was available for the applicant. Numerous stakeholders were involved during the application process: applicants, application supervisors, accredited officers, designated persons, and communications service providers. Under the old system, the possibility for error occurred with each contact.
Saving Lives by Saving Time
The police department contacted Optical Image Technology UK (OITUK Ltd.) in an effort to address the previous system’s shortcomings. OITUK Ltd. helped them to facilitate a nearly paperless business process by integrating Optical Image Technology’s DocFinity suite of workflow and document management software with Communications’ Intelligence Management system. This system is made up of four integral components: eForms, Work Queues, Communications, and Results Handling. Architecturally, the components are driven by the DocFinity electronic document management system, its underlying database tables, and DocFinity Workflow. Used in tandem with DocFinity, the Intelligence Management system ensures accuracy, efficiency, and compliance.
The integration with DocFinity significantly improves the police department’s business processes by providing it with secure Web access to its data, as well as the ability to image (view, scan, and index), import, and automate data. Because of the fragility of DNA and forensic evidence, immediate access is often imperative. OITUK’s flexibility and willingness to work with the police department have been critical. A Detective Constable with the department states that with DocFinity, “saving time literally saves lives because the evidential data is returned so quickly.”
An Inside Look at How It Works
DocFinity integrates with eForms, which assure security and validation. These are standardized application forms that contain mandatory fields, look-ups, and drop-down lists. Structurally, the forms require applicants to acknowledge that they have read specific sections of the application. The acknowledgements allow the police department to comply with legislative standards. Data from the forms is captured and stored in SQL databases, and a PDF document is created as a record of each application. These benefits are a vast improvement over the previous system, since incoming requests for evidence retain higher standards of accuracy and legislative compliance is ensured.
Because DocFinity integrates with Work Queues, the police department enjoys the efficiency of a nearly paperless environment while ensuring legal compliance. All of the documentation is stored within the DocFinity reservoir, providing investigators with immediate and secure access to data through any Web browser. Consequently, documents are no longer lost or misplaced.
As part of the Communications component, application data is automatically prepared for RIPA documentation. The Intelligence Management system uses the email program MS Outlook to create automatically generated emails and faxes about the criminal cases, and with DocFinity Workflow, documents are automatically routed to stakeholders, such as officers on duty or supervisors. The Results Handling component guarantees swift and accurate dissemination. DocFinity Workflow provides the police department with a high degree of flexibility. As such, the department can customize its automated processes so that the right people get the right documents and can act on the information as quickly as possible.
The Intelligence Management system receives results from service providers in many different formats: Outlook .msg files, data in body text, data in attachments, MS Word, MS Excel, or txt files. The system indexes the results and all associated documentation, and cascades all of the information under the case and application references as necessary. This provides the Communications Unit with the capability to quickly search any field. Fax messages are Fax messages are automatically imported for data entry, while paper documents are scanned and imported for data entry and indexing. Since data no longer has to be re-keyed, the process is faster and significantly less prone to error.
Looking Toward the Future
The Intelligence unit has made significant strides in its success rate of criminal capture as a result of its implementation of DocFinity. The unit characterizes its implementation as a legal, efficient way of working that generates massive savings. Intelligence is working with OITUK to explore ways in which to further leverage its use of the software. In the future, it hopes to have the capability to pinpoint the whereabouts of perpetrators, determining their locations through their use of communications devices. This would eliminate the need for a large, laborintensive surveillance team by mapping the frequencies of calls, as well as the origins and destinations of calls.
Intelligence also hopes to explore the option of displaying its collected data in charts and maps as opposed to spreadsheets. This form of data imaging might enable the unit to visualize perpetrators’ patterns. Finally, Intelligence is considering using its technology internationally, which would enable it to serve as consultants for crimes committed in other countries. Communications foresees few limitations to the software’s capabilities. It has implemented a highly searchable system that is entirely auditable and ensures legislative compliance. More importantly, with DocFinity, the Communications unit has saved time, money, and lives.
Summary
The police department works around the clock to ensure the safety of London’s citizens, and takes great pride in delivering quality policing. With DocFinity, key information about criminal cases can be moved effortlessly across geographical boundaries, providing audit trails for the future and ensuring against loss of critical information. DocFinity is a critical component in Communications’ ability to return evidence more quickly and solve crimes faster.
To view additional case studies, or to learn more about DocFinity workflow and document management software and how to automate your processes, please contact Optical Image Technology (http://www.docfinity.com) at 814.238.0038 or email info@docfinity.com.
