Informations Systems Strategy 2006-2009
Foreword by the Director of Public Prosecutions
Over the last five years the Crown Prosecution Service has used Information Technology to transform the way it works. The IT we have developed and implemented has directly contributed to improving the professionalism of the service we provide to members of the public and to our criminal justice system colleagues. The COMPASS Case Management System, COMPASS Management Information System and the Witness Management System underpin the work of key initiatives such as Charging, CPS Direct and No Witness No Justice and we can be justifiably proud of our progress.
The CPS IS Strategy for 2006-2009 provides the framework for building upon that progress and supports the CPS Business Strategy in attaining improved performance, better strategic decision-making and an effective, joined-up CPS and CJS. This is crucial as we exploit IT to realise the vision of making the CPS a world-class prosecuting authority and contribute to a modern, joined-up criminal justice system.
Ken Macdonald QC
Director of Public Prosecutions
Foreword by the Director of Business Information Systems
The CPS Information Systems Strategy represents a challenging way forward for technology-enabled change in the CPS.
In the wake of substantial IS growth during the past few years, IS in the CPS must now gear up to respond to the needs of a modern world-class prosecuting authority as it builds on its success at the heart of a changing criminal justice system. Above all, CPS IS must be flexible and responsive as the Service rises to the challenges of restructuring in the face of new legislation, policy changes and other initiatives in the delivery of criminal justice in England and Wales.
In responding to these business drivers, CPS IS must embrace emerging technologies and draw together our key systems and the supporting infrastructure. Integrating these changes with working practices for a modern age will support the drive towards excellence in prosecution.
The CPS IS Strategy for 2006 to 2009 describes how we will do this.
Claire Hamon
Director of Business Information Systems
Introduction
This strategy sets out the vision for developing the CPS network infrastructure, applications and services for 2006 to 2009 to support delivery of the CPS Business Strategy 2005-08. It describes how Information Systems (IS) will support and add value in achieving the departmental aim of CPS becoming a world-class prosecuting authority and valued public service at the heart of the Criminal Justice System (CJS).
Our vision
The vision for IS within the CPS complements the recently published CPS Business Strategy for 2005-08 and is set in the context of the Attorney General's five- year vision for the CJS (up to 2010) which broadens the focus of interagency activities.
CPS IS are central in enabling the CPS vision, by driving and supporting the changes within the CPS and CJS. This is reflected in the DPP's and Chief Executive's joint comment in the CPS Business Strategy that:
"Effective IT is crucial for the CPS and the Service is continuing to develop its COMPASS Case Management System and contribute to the work of all the criminal justice agencies to provide a single, linked IT infrastructure. Joined-up IT will allow all criminal justice staff to communicate swiftly and share case information and will substantially improve case handling between the police, CPS and the courts."
"By March 2008 anyone involved in the Criminal Justice System - users of it or people working within it - should have electronic access to the information they need across the breadth of their dealings."
Cutting Crime, Delivering Justice: A Strategic Plan for Criminal Justice 2004-2008
Business drivers
The CPS operates in a dynamic environment where change is driven by new legislation, policy initiatives, organisational restructuring, changes across the Criminal Justice System and wider Civil Service reforms. The role of the CPS and the way we work with other criminal justice partners is changing. Taking responsibility for charging is completely reshaping the working relationship with the police. Prosecutors now work closely with police officers from the earliest stages of an investigation. The CPS also ensures that witnesses receive information, advice and support to enable them to give their best evidence. In addition to the Prosecution Team approach, the CPS is also working with other criminal justice agencies to develop the criminal case management approach, and to develop shared services for common functions.
Other substantial changes are being introduced. The CPS is strengthening its capacity to prosecute international, organised and serious crime, and terrorism; piloting conditional cautioning and other disposals away from the court process, and joining up with other CJS IT systems. All these will be taking place while the Police Reform is under way. These changes are likely to affect individual roles, organisational structure and the number of people employed within the CPS.
The CPS Business Information Systems Directorate (BIS) will work with stakeholders and partners across the CJS and within the Service to define and deliver a wide range of IS services that will support the CPS change programme.
CPS IS Strategy
"Technology is the primary mechanism for simultaneously transforming services and reducing costs."
(Transformational Government, Enabled by Technology - Cabinet Office, 2005)
Recognising this, the case management system (CMS), the witness management system (WMS) and the management information system (MIS) will be in a cycle of continuous change and improvement. There will be more access to IT from remote and mobile locations, self-service applications for finance and personnel management, faster and more relevant management information, and a new enhanced intranet - the Infonet - that will bring all these changes together in a single user-friendly view.
In consultation with stakeholders and partners, we have developed the following IS strategy based on six key themes:
- developing case management;
- working flexibly;
- joining up the CPS;
- improving efficiency of corporate services;
- improving management information;
- joining up the CJS.
Collectively, these themes provide an IS agenda for transforming the CPS from 2006 to 2009 and beyond. An essential element in realising the strategy will be to ensure that we are capable of delivering it.
Developing case management
We will continue to develop the CPS COMPASS CMS to support the changing business environment while progressively improving the system's usability. This will enable caseworkers, prosecutors and managers to exploit the full potential of the system.
CMS provides a single national system to support a common business process and underpins a range of business benefits. CMS, WMS and associated MIS will continue to form the centrepiece of strategic activity. Therefore, we will continue to ensure that the development of our systems is aligned with changes in the business environment. In defining the timetable for the system lifecycle process (analysis, build, test and release), we will balance the demands for frequent and responsive releases with stakeholders' views on what is a manageable pace of change.
We will continue to develop CMS to support the end-toend case management process. In particular, we will ensure that the system supports pre-charge decisions (including those from CPS Direct lawyers), victim and witness care, and effective trial management. We will determine case management solutions for the introduction of the Serious and Organised Crime, Terrorism and Special Crime Divisions. In doing so, we will take account of security, long duration of cases, and different performance and management information requirements. In addition, we believe that case management will develop to include support to the financial management aspects of cases.
We will improve the design of CMS and WMS so that users find them easier to work with, and we want to increase assistive technologies such as voice and handwriting recognition. We will also ensure that staff have the right skills to make best use of the tools by broadening the range of training methods including greater use of e-learning where appropriate.
Working flexibly
We want users to have access to network services from wherever and whenever they need it. Providing modern technology tools will give more choice to staff in how they manage their work, support an improved work-life balance, allow more creative use of accommodation and enhance our position as an employer of choice.
New mobile services will be developed to take advantage of developing technologies such as wireless, third-generation mobile networks.
New ways of working introduced through Charging, CPS Direct and No Witness No Justice (NWNJ) have contributed to new working patterns for many CPS staff. These require a more mobile workforce, with staff able to work on the move, at home and in various CPS sites, courts and police stations. This is illustrated by CPS having a presence at 680 sites in 2005 compared to 92 four years earlier. In addition, with the increasing cost of office space, opportunities for savings arise as significant numbers of staff no longer need permanent work areas and adopt genuinely flexible approaches to work. Other drivers include our vision for the CPS to be an employer of choice. To this end, our support of flexible working strategies will enhance the recruitment and retention of staff.
At present, some legacy infrastructure design issues impede support of full flexible working, and will set the framework for the next round of technical refresh projects, due in 2007.
New mobile services will be developed to take advantage of developing technologies such as wireless, third-generation mobile networks (3G) for mobile conferencing and convergent devices like personal digital assistants (PDAs) and smart phones. The Flexible & Mobile Working Programme is taking this work forward through developments including laptops providing broadband and wireless access, enhanced facilities at courts, and improved solutions for remote sites including CPS Direct.
We will also provide secure mobile IT and telephony support to staff working with confidential-level information in the UK or abroad. These facilities combined with the Infonet will provide access to the necessary information wherever people work. For the longer term, the major benefits of the flexible working programme will be realised through enabling the more efficient use of the CPS estate.
Joining up the Crown Prosecution Service - managing knowledge and information
Information systems need to be secure and flexible to support a highly collaborative environment in which everyone benefits from a systematic method of managing, storing and accessing information that improves efficiency, reduces the total cost of ownership and increases return on investment.
The volume of information used by CPS staff demands a defined approach to how information, knowledge and data are stored, shared and accessed within the service and across the CJS. Information needs to be viewed as a corporate asset rather than a personal or departmental resource.
The first improvement will be the Infonet, with simple navigation and comprehensive search facilities, which will be expanded to include local Area or Directorate home pages and access to the Prosecution College's e-learning facilities. This will enable learning to be enriched by links to guidance, good-practice examples and specialists.
The Infonet will be based on a new enterprise content management (ECM) system, which will enable historically disparate sources of information and support to be drawn together. It will also provide the basis for an electronic data records management facility. Sharing a document via email and on shared drives will be replaced by putting it in a stated location available to all who want to see it and work on it. As the ECM develops over time, users will work through the Infonet as it will be a one-stop portal to the main CPS business applications and facilities, and enable collaborative working through the use of virtual workspaces.
Improving the efficiency of corporate services
Our aim is to generate efficiencies by sharing core data held in corporate support systems, and by maximising opportunities for sharing common systems with other Government departments. We will ensure greater integration of corporate systems by applying a corporate view of data.
In common with all Government departments, we have challenging targets to reduce administrative costs as outlined in the Efficiency Review. In addition, the Chief Information Officers Council is driving the analysis of where the shared services across Government can achieve savings.
Building on the review of the CPS business centres in simplifying and streamlining HR, Finance and Facilities Management processes, the ECM via the Infonet will enable all staff to access and update their personal HR information. Within this self-service environment, administrative forms will become more interactive, allowing staff to complete them online.
We will improve electronic data transfer and data sharing between core support systems to avoid re-keying data and to increase its reliability and integrity. We will aim to instigate electronic billing of Counsel fees. We will support the 'procure to pay' strategy including electronic invoice authorisation and web-based ordering.
Improving management information
We aim to better inform decision-making by improving the management information capability that supports strategic planning within the CPS and across the CJS.
Managers need a reliable source of casework, financial and HR management information that enables them to take a holistic view of their area of responsibility. At present, this information is split among several applications including the MIS, the corporate information system (CIS), Finance and HR systems. CIS contains information from MIS, Finance, and Manpower and Payroll systems, with data transfer methods into CIS ranging from interfaces with other systems to manual inputting.
We will establish a common data standard and a single view of data. We will seek to identify and implement a flexible management reporting tool that will harmonise CPS management information standards across all our systems. We will support strategic and operational planning by providing the capability for trend analysis and scenario modelling. For example, the implications of the proposed police reform will be modelled in various scenarios as part of an impact analysis.
The single management information reporting tool will also provide key casework management and performance information across the wider CJS and beyond. It will be a key element in providing data for the CJS management information system and informing the strategy development of Local Criminal Justice Boards.
Joining up the Criminal Justice System
Future IT solutions across the CJS will be flexible, robust and accessible by authorised people from anywhere in the CJS.
We will continue to work with our partners to link IT systems and improve cross-CJS working arrangements in line with the CJIT programme aim of building the foundation for a modern and effective, 'joined-up' CJS by 2008. In doing so, we will continue to support the CJS Exchange programme. This will mean automatic exchange of data between CMS and CJS partner systems such as police forces using NSPIS, Niche and Omega systems; the Magistrates' Courts system LIBRA; and the Secure Email programme that will enable the exchange of 'Restricted' correspondence with Counsel and defence solicitors.
We will also continue to develop the WMS, which is presently available to the Police. We will be active participants in developing Progress, the case progression tool, to ensure its effective integration with CMS. We will also enhance the new Infonet capabilities to develop an Extranet - a secure framework - that allows us to communicate and share our legal and policy guidance with colleagues in the Law Officers' Departments and other interested government departments.
Ensuring delivery capability
This IS strategy sets out a programme of technologyenabled change that is challenging but achievable provided it is delivered with the necessary professionalism. As set out in Transformational Government, this requires "coherent, joined-up leadership and governance; portfolio management of the technology programmes; development of IT professionalism and skills; strengthening of the controls and support to ensure reliable project delivery; improvements in supplier management; and a systematic focus on innovation".
Experience has shown where improvements in the governance of IS-enabled projects are needed. More specifically, the IS Strategy needs to be supported by ringfenced and centrally administered IT funding allocated to new strategic change initiatives. In addition, priority for all IT development across the CPS should be carried out by the ICT Committee, to ensure tie-in to the IS Strategy and provide a framework in which portfolios can be effectively managed. This will include ensuring that the necessary infrastructure and network capacity issues are effectively managed.
In contributing to developing a professional IT culture across Government, the BIS Directorate needs to continue its work with the Cabinet Office, the British Computer Society and the Sector Skills Council for IT, Telecoms and Contact Centres (eSkills, UK). This work, along with piloting the Skills Framework for the Information Age, will enable existing knowledge and skills to be identified and measured against present and future needs; and enable career development opportunities to be planned.
The portfolio of projects needed to realise the strategic themes is set out in the CPS IS Strategy Delivery Programme.