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CSC Develops an Action Plan
Information-Sharing Increases Safety

BY Marlène Zalatan, Communications Officer, Information Management Services and Offender Management System Renewal

Nancie Proulx

Recently the Offender Management System Renewal (OMSR) team held a two-day workshop at National Headquarters to identify a new common vision for gathering and sharing information from the police and the courts.

As announced at the very start of the OMS renewal, this is one of the latest initiatives to supplement the range of shared electronic and offender management tools. The goal is to provide shared electronic access so that CSC employees can electronically access police reports, judges’ reasons for sentencing and other official documents regarding convictions.

A judge’s comments at sentencing concerning an offender’s potential for violent behaviour and police reports are important documents for managing the offender’s sentence. They will be more readily available to case management teams through this new electronic information-sharing initiative so that case management officers can more effectively manage their cases throughout sentences.

As a result of this need to standardize and computerize the gathering and sharing of court and police reports, we consulted the regions and assembled a multidisciplinary team responsible for following through with this project. For this reason, the national workshop included people from operational units who are responsible for gathering information.

“A number of best practices have already been implemented in some regions, and we expect to learn from them — the information sent to us by regional representatives is a gold mine! Now we just have to use it!” said Nancie Proulx, Project Coordinator.

Included in the workshop agenda were the objectives of this initiative and the business plan that will be carried out over the coming months. Following these, participants presented business process and information systems already in place in their region. Lastly, a brainstorming session helped raise the various expected results, possible challenges and solutions.

The Offender Management System Renewal is constantly trying to improve the effectiveness of practices for sharing information about offenders. The Court Information Management Initiative (CIMI) is an initiative for information-sharing, interoperable systems and open and transparent communication between the Service and some of its criminal justice partners. CSC’s action plan concerning the CIMI is a springboard to a comprehensive vision that is consistent with the mandate of the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada — the protection and safety of Canadians. ♦