Essex Police moves to electronic case file system

Essex Police can now send electronic case file details to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) after moving to a non-paper based system.

The new system from information and communications technology specialists SunGard Vivista will help save time for the police by cutting out double-keying and helps facilitate the joining up of the criminal justice system.

SunGard Vivista has worked in partnership with Essex Police, the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), the CPS and other organisations to configure and implement the electronic interface between the Police’s National Strategy for Police Information Systems’ (NSPIS) Case Preparation system and the Crown Prosecution Service’s Case Management System (CMS). The interface uses SunGard Vivista’s Omega interface architecture to securely package and transfer case data between the two criminal justice organisations.

This implementation was the first one in the Home Office’s programme to roll out the CMS interface to all police forces in England and Wales.

Force custody manager at Essex Police, Inspector Les Weller, said: “This interface allows for quicker registration of cases on the CPS system and saves CPS staff time in double keying details of case files. Whilst a manual file still has to be prepared and sent to the CPS at this time, it is hoped that the interface will develop to the point where all information can be sent electronically thus saving both the police staff and CPS staff even more time in the future.”