Sheriff courts link up under new IT system
27 Jun 07
Electronic case management system provides nationwide picture
Scotland’s 49 sheriff courts now have a nationwide electronic and case management system in place, aimed at increasing court efficiency.
After a four-year development phase the Criminal Operations Project II (COPII) has been rolled out to 900 users, replacing the previous regional system. The result of a collaboration between the Scottish Courts Service and STL Technologies, COPII gives a full national picture of all cases and associated accounts.
Sheriff courts now have a complete electronic case file for every case or application brought before the court, allowing for the sharing and transfer of data and business between courts. This involved an extensive migration of case and account data, maintaining a historic profile of every case or offender going back seven years. Data will also be available to the courts for comparative statistical analysis.
Gordon Wales, Director of Operational Support at Scottish Courts Service said: “The Court Service is very grateful for the considerable efforts made by the COPII project team, our wider IT department and STL across this complex project. Its success is a triumph of partnership working over contract management. This has been achieved by STL and SCS working together to deliver what’s in the best interests of our staff and the service they provide.”