Investigative Case Management Software

The vendor is required to provide that provide a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software as a service webhosted workflow solution.
- The solution must be a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) cloud-based delivery model where applications and data are hosted.
- While it must be understood that some features described in require custom workflows and development, it is the expectation of office that any proposed solution will substantially be a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product.
- Agency relies heavily on its case management system (CMS) as a cornerstone for its complaint intake and investigation processes.
- This system serves as the primary platform for receiving, documenting, and managing complaints through the investigation lifecycle.
- Agency current CMS is antiquated, hampering its ability to effectively manage and track both complaint intake and investigative tasks.
- This outdated system suffers from slow performance and limited functionality, which significantly reduces productivity.
- It relies heavily on manual data entry and lacks automation features, leading to inefficiencies.
- The user interface is cumbersome and non-intuitive, making it difficult for staff to navigate and retrieve information quickly.
- The system does not integrate well with other essential software, resulting in data silos and redundant processes. security vulnerabilities are also a concern.
- Complaint intake
1. To perform these functions, the user:
• Receives complaint information and supporting documents from various sources.
• Creates a complaint record in the CMS.
• Documents complainant and complaint information in the CMS.
• Performs preliminary research into complaints and documents in the CMS.
2.  The CMS must provide the following:
• Allow for the automated entry of complaint information.
• Online portal for public to submit complaints and upload complaint detail documentation.
• Capability to receive and record complaints from a dedicated shared mailbox.
• Intake high-volume complaint worksheets and parse individual complaints into separate complaint records.
• Allow the automated entry of complaint information from third-party systems via information exchanges.
• Allow for manual input of complaint record entries.  a. Complaint assignment and documentation
• Ability to assign, manage, and track complaint assignments to CMU staff.
• Provide alerts and notifications of case management unit (CMU) staff complaint assignments.
• Generate and assign an internal complaint number for each record using locally-defined format and procedures.
• Automatically search itself for existing complaint records that can be used to identify and link together multiple individuals and events.
• Allow the user to merge or link records if duplicates or related complaints are found.
• Offer the ability to add and maintain:
o Complaint details.
o Complainant information, location, and contact information.
o Entity names, locations, and contact information.
o Staff names and contact information.
• Generate and assign separate identifiers for each staff member or entity.
• Enter data and create, receive, store, and index documents related to a complaint.
• Allow the user to create all documents needed for filing based on the records and document management functionality.
• Support electronic filing of documents.
• Flag confidential and sensitive information and restrict access to specified users.
• Customizable grid view that summarizes and is linked to weekly complaint master records.
• The ability to filter view by timeframe.
• Views which allow for collaboration and input of notes from multiple users simultaneously.
• View which enables users to quickly review and efficiently execute various actions
- Complaint assessment
1. To perform these functions, the user:
• Performs a weekly review of complaints, evidence, facts, and other supporting information received.
• Determines whether to pursue an investigation, refer the matter to another agency, or close the complaint based on the evaluation.
• Identifies office and staff assignments and next steps for the investigation.
2. The CMS must provide the following:
• Customizable grid view that summarizes and is linked to weekly complaint master records.
• The ability to filter view by timeframe.
• Views which allow for collaboration and input of notes from multiple users simultaneously.
• View which enables users to quickly review and efficiently execute various actions.
- Complaint processing and advancement:
1. To perform these functions, the user:
• Reviews and document results from the complaint review process (CRP) process.
• Creates the CMS case for complaints deemed as investigations.
• Assigns investigator(s) to the case.
• Provides complaint documentation to the investigations team for detailed investigation.
• Generates referrals to jurisdictional agencies and responses to complainants through either email or letter correspondence.
2. The CMS must provide the following:
• Generate and assign an internal case number for each record using locally-defined format and procedures.
• Automatically search itself for pre-existing case records that can be used to identify and link together multiple individuals and events.
• Allow the user to merge or link records if duplicates or related cases are found.
• Offer the ability to add and maintain:
o Case details.
o Entity names, locations, and contact information.
o Staff names and contact information.
• Generate and assign separate identifiers for each staff member or entity.
• Assign cases to individuals or groups for detailed investigation.
• Enter data and creates, receives, stores, and indexes documents related to a case.
• Allow the user to create all documents needed for filing based on the records and document management functionality.
• Support electronic filing of documents.
• Flag confidential and sensitive information and restrict to specified users.
• Generate referrals to outside parties through either email or letter correspondence.
• Create documents using standardized templates and creates custom documents using MS word or an equivalent word processor.
• Sends and receives documents electronically via email and automatically log when documents are sent and received.
• Provide alerts and notifications of referral acknowledgement deadlines.
2. To perform these functions, the user:
• Conducts multiple investigatory techniques, including surveillance, witness and target interviews, investigative document review, digital forensics, and financial record analysis.
• Produces subpoenas and warrant requests as needed.
• Collects and maintains evidence, documentation, statements, and other materials related to the case.
• Meets with staff and external partners to advance investigation.
• Prepares cases for prosecution and agency administrative actions.
• Manages caseloads and investigators’ priorities including producing:
o Case summary reports.
o Case pending reports.
o Case aging reports.
o Investigative notifications and alerts.
• Meets with staff to make key decisions
• Customizable workflow processes for document creation, review, approval, and publishing.
• Personalized dashboard highlighting agency, staff, and case milestones and tasks.
• Track the start and end time of each phase of the investigation.
• Automated notifications and alerts for workflow stages.
• Assign additional investigative staff to the case.
• Limit access to case information for security and privacy.
• Perform investigator(s) and agency case deconfliction.
• Monitor and track case assignments and manage staff assignments.
• Create and track tasks assigned to individuals.
• Case calendars that document and report on investigative meetings and appointments.
• Create requests and approvals for request for information (RFI), investigative fieldwork, subpoena, and warrant requests.
• Track the history of case events, including results of the event.
• Record casework and specific details in multilevel case narratives.
• Allow changes to events without affecting the historical case records.
• Ability to identify trends in data across a variety of case and entity indices for investigation support.
• Quality control approvals of digital forensics, and financial record analysis results.
• Ability to create and utilize fieldwork, subpoena, warrant, and other case form templates from information within system.
• Support electronic filing of documents.
• Ability to create, edit, and collaborate with others on documents within the system in real time.
• Ability to electronically sign or electronically approve documents.
• Field, global, and attachment index search capabilities.
• Facilitates secure document file transfers and logging of submissions.
• Assistance with investigative administrative requests.
• Customizable grid view that summarizes assignments and status to facilitate case reviews.
- Investigative reporting
1. To perform these functions, the user:
• Collaborates to identify the scope of reporting.
• Drafts the report or letter of all relevant information.
• Collaborates with the investigative team to perform a review of the draft.
• Finalizes the draft with approved edits from chain of command.
• Provides subject agency draft report or letter for review.
• Collaborates with inspector general to sign and finalize report or letter.
• Mails hard copy report or letter to the subject agency and/or issues to the public on office website.
2. The CMS must provide the following:
• Pre-defined templates for consistent letter and report formatting.
• Ability to create and customize template.
• Rich text editor (MS word) with formatting options.
• Real-time document collaborative editing.
• Version control for tracking changes and reverting to previous version.
• Customizable workflow processes for document creation, review, approval, and publishing.
• Escalation and de-escalation mechanisms for letter or report handling.
• Automated notifications and alerts for workflow stages.
• Identify and redact any information that is exempt from disclosure.
• Store copies of the drafts and final reports or letters for future reference
- Case record retention
1. To perform these functions, the user:
• Identifies which documents need to be retained based on policy.
• Collects all documents that are to be retained.
• Ensures all necessary documents are complete and accurate.
• Categorizes documents into relevant groups for easier management and retrieval.
• Creates an index system for the documents to facilitate easy retrieval.
• Labels both physical and digital documents with appropriate identifiers.
• Stores physical documents in a secure, climate-controlled environment.
• Stores digital documents in a secure, backed-up digital repository.
• Defines who can access the retained documents and under what conditions.
• Implements a retrieval system
2. The CMS must provide the following:
• Ability to automatically retain cases based on predefined criteria such as case status, age, or completion.
• Robust metadata handling to capture details like case number, relevant dates, involved parties, and case type.
• Support for digital preservation formats to ensure long-term accessibility of case documents.
• Tracking and managing different versions of case documents.
• Tools to index and categorize cases for easy retrieval.
• Ability to define and enforce retention policies based on regulatory requirements and organizational needs.
• Automated scheduling to manage the retention period for each case, including notifications of upcoming retention deadlines.
• Comprehensive audit trails to log access and modifications of case records for compliance and monitoring.
- Case record disposition
1. To perform these functions, the user:
• Identifies which documents need to be destroyed based on the disposition policy.
• Retrieves physical documents from the secure, climate-controlled environment.
• Retrieves digital documents from the secure, backed-up digital repository.
• Ensures all necessary documents are complete and accurate.
• Follows the established retention schedule to determine when documents should be disposed of.
• Ensure documents are disposed of securely to protect sensitive information
2. The CMS must provide the following:
• define rules and workflows for the secure disposal of case records at the end of their retention period.
• Workflow for obtaining approvals from relevant authorities before case records are disposed of.
• Ensure that case records are securely deleted or destroyed, following industry standards and regulations.
• Comprehensive audit trails to log secure deletions of case records for compliance and monitoring.
• generate reports detailing records scheduled for disposition, those disposed of, and those retained for legal holds or other reasons.
- Case support and services
1. To perform these functions, the user:
• Catalogs and categorizes evidence; upon the receipt of evidence, the user enters unique identifiers, descriptions, and categories, and who provided the evidence when.
• Ensures that all evidence is marked and all records have not been altered.
• Maintains a chain of custody and ensures the security of the evidence.
• Edits the status of evidence when it is released to the rightful owner.
• Tracks the release of evidence for investigation and court purposes.
• Creates media and document copies of evidence at the request of the investigator, defense attorney, court, etc.
• Approves the destruction of evidence and property at the conclusion of a case.
2. The CMS must provide the following:
• Integration with office current physical evidence tracking system.
• Development of an office electronic evidence tracking system.
• Add and relate evidence to a case.
• Audit any actions to ensure a chain of custody and authenticity.
• Track date/time received, received by whom, evidence type/description, and provided to another entity.
• Enable sharing of appropriate evidence with relevant parties during discovery and maintain a complete chain of custody.
• Track evidence status, including ready for destruction, and provide an approval for law enforcement to destroy the evidence.
- Discovery
1. To perform these functions, the user:
• Categorizes case information, evidence, and other materials as discoverable or no discoverable upon their receipt or when sought under discovery.
• Digitizes case materials where practical.
• Identifies, labels, and sequentially numbers case materials.
• Reviews case materials to meet privacy requirements.
• Inventories case materials in the CMS and metadata is added about the material.
• Reviews case materials to determine whether exculpatory evidence is contained in the materials.
• Reviews offices personnel records to determine if material relevant to the credibility of witnesses, i.e., is available about any witness intended to be called by the prosecution and ensures that information is included in discovery.
• Notifies defense counsel of available discovery and ensures discoverable items are transferred accordingly.
• Records discovered items, including recipient information and acknowledgement.
2. The CMS must provide the following:
• enable the user to inventory all items related to a case, record relevant descriptive data about the items, and designate items as either discoverable or non-discoverable.
• Integrate discovery processing with the document management and evidence management capabilities.
• Enable the production of discovery materials where appropriate, such as digitized evidence or digitized documents, and ensure that these materials cannot be altered.
• Track the distribution of discovery items; the system must track all discovery and disclosure items exchanged by description, date/time of transfer, entities providing items, and entities receiving items.
• Integrate with other case data, such as party information, to eliminate duplicate data entry.
• Allow each piece of discovery to be uniquely identified and numbered, if appropriate
• Capability to protect specific data elements from discovery.
• Capability to obscure or redact portions of images, videos and digitized materials to protect identities.
• Ability to track and manage all discovery activities beginning with the request or trigger for discovery through delivery of discovery.
• Triggers for discovery must be configurable and user defined.
• Make metadata and other data elements associated with the discovery and disclosure process configurable by the appropriate end user.
• Allow the discloser of the list related to the case.
• Facilitate secure document file transfers and logging of submissions.
• Make access to the discovery capabilities controllable by the appropriate end user
- Foil
1. To perform these functions, the user:
• Receives the foil request from the requester via email, postal mail, online forms, or in-person.
• Acknowledges the receipt of the request within the time frame specified by law.
• Examines the request to understand the scope and specificity.
• Seeks clarification from the requester if necessary.
• Determines which departments or individuals hold the requested records.
• Searches for and compiles the requested records.
• Documents search efforts.
• Examines the gathered records to determine if they are responsive to the request.
• Identifies and redacts any information that is exempt from disclosure.
• Annotates the redactions, providing justifications for why certain information was withheld.
• Provides the requester with responsive records. includes an explanation of any redaction’s withholdings.
• Keeps detailed records of the entire foil process, including the request, search efforts, correspondence, and the final response.
• Stores digital copies of the requested records and the response provided for future reference.
• If an appeal is filed, reviews the basis of the appeal and re-examine the original request and response.
• Decides whether to uphold the original response or to provide additional records or information.
• Notifies the requester of the decision regarding the appeal, providing a detailed explanation
2. The CMS must provide the following:
• A Separate CMS module dedicated to foil.
• Interfaces with complaint and investigative CMS.
• Online portal for the public to submit foil requests.
• Capture and log incoming foil requests, including requestor details, date of submission, and nature of the information requested.
• Assign requests to appropriate staff members and track the status of each case throughout its lifecycle.
• Store and organize documents related to each request, including submitted forms, internal communications, and responsive records.
• Facilitate communication between requestors and the agency, including automated acknowledgments, updates, and responses.
• Alerts and notifications of upcoming request deadlines.
• Ensure adherence to legal deadlines and requirements, generating reports on request processing times, compliance rates, and other key metrics.
• Advanced search capabilities to locate and retrieve relevant documents and information quickly.
• Allow for the redaction of sensitive or exempt information from documents before release.
• Maintain a detailed log of all actions taken on each request, ensuring transparency and accountability.
• Control access to the system and its data, ensuring that only authorized personnel can view or edit sensitive information.
• Generate insights and statistics on foil requests, helping to identify trends, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement.
- Contract Period/Term: 5 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: March 24, 2025