Case Management: success of project that eradicates paperwork to be assessed

A pilot initiative to provide an electronic interface between the software systems of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) - and eradicate paperwork - will draw to a close this summer.


The pilot, which has been running since last year, links the CPS' COMPASS case management system in Humberside to the police's National Strategy for Police Information Systems, which holds custody and case preparation information.


The pilot was set up in conjunction with the Police IT Organisation and Criminal Justice IT (CJIT). CJIT spokesman Dean Fell said: 'The pilot is testing the electronic link between the police systems and the CPS system, to make sure that when files are sent across, they will arrive on time.


'Each case has a unique reference number which means that the electronic file cannot be lost. The system cuts out all the paperwork, with no paper bundles being sent - which means less administration for the police, and therefore less expense for taxpayers. It is also more accurate, because you are not relying on reading people's handwriting.'


Mr Fell added that the outcome of the pilot would need to be assessed before the system could be rolled out nationally.


The COMPASS case management system has handled three million cases since it went live in April 2003, the CPS annual report for 2004/05 revealed this month. As of March this year, the system had 7,598 users across the CPS. Updates to the system this year have included markers for different hate-crime categories to allow these offences to be monitored, and the introduction of screens to support statutory charging.


COMPASS was set up through a contract with software provider LogicaCMG, worth £200 million over ten years.



A survey last year found that four out of five prosecutors had embraced the system (see [2004] Gazette, 16 September, 4).