Investigative case management can be complex and daunting. Cloud base case management systems can bring all aspects of the investigative process to one platform while also optimizing evidence handling and clarifying the chain of custody.
PlanStreet offers a powerful investigative case management system to help your departments achieve the best outcomes. Let’s learn more about Investigative case management and how PlanStreet can be your partner in the Investigative process.
What Is Investigative Case Management?
Investigative case management is a structured approach that manages investigations from beginning to end. It involves setting clear objectives, creating detailed plans, and maintaining effective communication.
By employing best practices in investigative case management, organizations can conduct thorough investigations that yield actionable results while upholding ethical standards and legal requirements.
What Is the Investigation Management Process?
The investigation management process involves defining the scope and objectives, planning and preparation, data collection, and data analysis. By following these essential steps, investigators can ensure a thorough and effective investigation. Proper planning and attention to detail during data collection and analysis are crucial for building a solid case based on reliable evidence.
You need to focus on several key components to manage investigative cases effectively. These include gathering and documenting all relevant information, maintaining a strict chain of custody for evidence, establishing a well-defined workflow with clear task assignments, and facilitating seamless collaboration among team members through communication tools. By doing so, organizations can conduct thorough investigations efficiently while maintaining accuracy, integrity, and compliance with legal standards. Let’s explore some key elements of investigative case management in detail.
- Data Gathering and Documentation
Data gathering and documentation are critical to investigative case management. Investigators use various techniques to gather data, including interviews, document reviews, digital analysis, and surveillance.
Documentation records findings and actions taken during the process, ensuring transparency and accountability. Investigators must accurately record details and organize all information systematically for easy retrieval and analysis. Specialized software can streamline the process. Effective data organization is essential for building a solid case foundation and presenting compelling evidence.
- Evidence Handling and Chain of Custody
Adequate evidence handling and maintaining a secure chain of custody are crucial aspects of investigative case management. Clear guidelines must be established for collecting, preserving, packaging, and storing physical and digital evidence.
Adequate evidence handling practices and maintaining a secure chain of custody are critical components of investigative case management, upholding the credibility and reliability of the investigation process.
- Workflow and Task Assignment
Efficient workflow management is essential for investigative case management. Clear protocols and guidelines for task assignments are vital. Tasks should be assigned based on expertise, availability, and priority.
Workflow management involves setting up a streamlined task-tracking process and monitoring progress using specialized software or tools. Visibility into task status helps team leaders manage workloads and meet deadlines.
A robust workflow system and efficient task assignment processes drive successful outcomes in investigative case management. Optimizing these aspects boosts productivity, improves decision-making processes, and achieves more significant success in resolving cases effectively. PlanStreet does exactly that for you as we pride ourselves on our software’s ability to automate workflows and bring together vast amounts of data such as that collected during investigations.
- Collaboration and Communication Tools
Effective collaboration and communication tools are crucial for efficient investigative case management. These tools centralize case information, enable real-time messaging and chat, streamline workflows, and support secure file sharing with external parties.
Effective investigative case management requires robust data security measures to ensure sensitive information’s confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
An effective investigative case management system like PlanStreet can significantly reduce costs by automating tasks, streamlining processes, and reducing manual labor. It can also cut operational expenses by centralizing case-related information and minimizing the need for multiple platforms.
Comprehensive data security measures can also mitigate the risks associated with data breaches or compliance violations, safeguarding against costly security incidents that could negatively impact the organization’s bottom line.
The software can help bring data to one platform, streamline tasks, establish a chain of custody, and increase the efficiency of investigations. All Investigative case management software must have the following features:
- Creation and association of cases
Field investigators can establish and update cases by using input forms for speedy data capture. Drag-and-drop abilities enable the association of entities and situations for better analysis and visualization.
- Investigations
You can use the power of Software to drive investigations seamlessly from the field to the office by using modern mobile tools, interviews, evidence management, search and retrieve, assessments, dashboards, and an automated workflow.
- Cross-team collaboration and case management
Supervisors and investigative teams leverage forums for secure, cross-team collaboration, data sharing, and messaging.
Supervisor- and Investigator-specific dashboards may be leveraged to effectively manage every phase of a case. Through rich dashboard and reporting features, supervisors anticipate and manage investigator caseloads and performance.
How to design an Effective Investigative Case Management System (CMS)
A CMS can enable improved reporting, triaging, and investigative capabilities, ensuring that the investigation teams comply with internal policies and external regulatory requirements.
Introducing a powerful CMS can be the key to a successful in-house investigations team. The following design elements can make your CMS a powerful ally in your investigations:
- Sponsorship
As for all corporate projects, implementing a case management system must obtain the right level of senior sponsorship inside the organization to succeed, ideally at the executive committee level.
- Multi-department users’ base
From this perspective, the CMS can support multiple processes normally owned by different departments, such as audit, legal, compliance, security, and Human Resources (HR).
- Users access management
Users’ access management principles must be firmly embedded in the system’s design. The solution owner must retain control and issue access credentials only to trusted users.
- Security assessment
Once the best IT solution has been identified, it is strongly advised that the cyber security team assess the system’s architecture and technical elements to confirm that the system is fully aligned with the organization’s cyber security standards.
- Privacy requirements
While building an effective system to store information and manage investigations effectively, some relevant compliance requirements must be considered.
- Internal processes and compliance requirements
An effective CMS can be structured to improve compliance with policies and internal processes. Specific notifications and workflows can be built to help the investigation teams notify other stakeholders while managing incidents.
Enhance Your Investigative Case Management through Plan Street’s Powerful, Fully Customizable Platform
PlanStreet offers you the best design elements for your case management systems. It also boosts efficiency and helps you close investigations faster by automating workflows and allowing data gathering, collaboration and communication all from a single platform.
Having one platform for all departmental needs minimizes costs and optimizes efficiency. Plan Street offers robust, customizable case management software for non-profits and state departments. Organize cases, streamline evidence handling, and maximize your budget through. Workflow automation takes the administrative burden out of decision-making, and user-friendly mobile and web apps make it easy to access critical data from anywhere.
Schedule a call with us at PlanStreet to custom design an investigative case management System for your organization.