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5.1. Choice of technologies to manage exhibits and other documents


Exhibits and other documents raise more complex questions concerning the use
of information technology than does transcript. Some of the basic issues
relating to the appropriate choice and use of software, which will be
discussed in turn in this Chapter, are:

*  Which documents (if any) should be summarised in a document control
   database?
   
*  Which documents (if any) should be captured in full text?
   
*  Which documents (if any) should be captured as images?
   
*  What summaries and lists should be able to be produced by the software?
   
*  Is it necessary or advantageous to obtain one program which will satisfy
   all of these requirements, or is it practical to integrate various
   programs?
   
These issues must be confronted by both the investigator (Police, NCA, ASC,
special task force or otherwise), and by the lawyer who is subsequently
preparing a complex prosecution or defence. Investigators will make their
choices in large part because of their investigative needs, but they should
also bear in mind the effect of their selections at the prosecution stage.
Livermore argues that there is a need for 'a more coordinated approach to the
development of integrated computer-based investigative and litigation support
systems' (Livermore (1992)). In the discussion following, the approach taken
in the Rothwells prosecution in Western Australia is one example of such a
coordinated approach.



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