(April 6, 2021) Austin, TX – Case Closed Software™, a leading provider of investigation case management software to specialized investigation unit, today announced that a large Georgia Sheriff’s Office has signed a multi-year contract for their secure, cloud-based systems.
The Peach State county, serving tens of thousands of residents, selected Case Closed Software after speaking with existing users and testing the functionality with their own data. Case Closed Software will help the county’s Sheriff’s Office and associated Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force work investigations more efficiently with a goal to close criminal cases more quickly.
According to Douglas Wood, President of Case Closed Software, the county selected his company’s offering due to the flexibility and overall feature set it offers.
Case Closed Software is powerful and feature-rich software for specialized investigation units.
“We’re thrilled to add this new law enforcement client to our delighted customer base”, said Mr. Wood. “We very proudly focus on specialized investigation units which include state bureaus of investigation, fugitive recovery agents, anti-human trafficking investigators, drug task forces, internet crimes against children units, and local law enforcement.”
Case Closed Software has begun implementation of the software and expects the County to be fully installed and trained by April 30, 2021.
“Case Closed Software is widely recognized as the only true investigation software for multi-jurisdictional investigative agencies”, said the company’s CEO and founder Douglas Wood. “With our latest version, we expand even further into solving the unique problems faced by task forces, global organizations, and other more specialized investigation units”.
New features of Case Closed Software include:
Multi-Language Support, which enables Case Closed Software users to interact with the application in any language they choose. All data is translated in realtime so users who speak different languages can share intelligence and case information.
Integrated Operations Plan gives organizations the ability to plan and execute strategic investigative operations across jurisdictions. With Case Closed Software’s Operations Plan, users are all executing their initiatives in sync, and everyone is on the same page in terms of strategy and tactics.
Improved data entry options, making it easier for investigators to quickly get relevant information into the system. The new system allows administrative re-naming of fields for localization, enhanced drop-down menu functionality, and the ability to remove unused fields completely from the interface.
Case Visualization allows users to quickly visualize the elements of their case using integrated link analysis software. Entities such as people, locations, and vehicles are displayed in a simple ‘tree format’ that allows users to click through information related to those entities. With this feature, users can easily view where else their case entities exist within the system across cases and across jurisdictions.
Google Location Integration, allowing critical addresses and locations to be entered quickly and accurately. Not all locations are addresses, and the new Case Closed Software features allow users to pin locations on an integrated map. Lat/Long, country, province/state, etc are all auto-populated.
“With global customers like Humane Society International, Exodus Road, and others it is important to continually strive to keep our Case Closed Software at the head of the class. Our latest version is another step in our endless march to remain the go-to solution for investigation case management.”
Humane Society International’s (HSI) senior specialist in global anti-dog fighting, Janette Reever, says that the popularity of dogfighting is increasing and is often linked to domestic violence incidences.
(September 20, 2018) Austin, TX – Case Closed Software® announced today that a 5 State Natural Resources/Law Enforcement Task Force has begun working on the Case Closed Cloud™ platform for advanced investigative case management.
The task force – consisting of natural resources law enforcement agents from Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri – selected Case Closed Cloud due to its ease-of-use, quick deployment model, and cost-effective pricing.
“We are thrilled to add another big name multi-jurisdictional task force to our group of cloud customers, said Douglas Wood, CEO of Case Closed Cloud’s parent company Crime Technology Solutions, LLC. “Our SaaS offering is now used by agencies, security firms, drug task forces, and other investigative organizations both here in the U.S. and overseas”,
Case Closed Cloud is an ultra secure, CJIS-compliant investigation case management system designed for investigative agencies that want to stay organized and manage cases more easily. The browser-based system includes functionality for tracking cases, investigator actions and supplemental reports, evidence (both physical and electronic), reporting, tips and leads, and much more.
“Cloud software has so many benefits for law enforcement. It is the fastest growing segment of the market by far.” added Mr. Wood.
For more information on how Case Closed Cloud can help you revolutionize your investigative unit, visit https://www.caseclosedcloud.com
Several times each week, I receive an inquiry from a PD, task force, or Sheriff’s office asking if my investigation case management software, Case Closed Software, can interface with a particular Records Management System (RMS). The question stems from the investigation unit’s desire to have a purpose-built, flexible solution designed to help their agents stay organized and work more efficiently.
Let’s face it… RMS software, by and large, is not designed for managing major cases. Agencies know it, and the RMS vendors know it. For them, the notion of managing the complexities of major case investigations is an afterthought at best.
(The answer I give to these inquiries, by the way, is that any good investigation management software should have capabilities to ingest data from other law enforcement products, including RMS).
The more important point, however, is recognizing that criminal investigators gather vasts amounts of information during the course of an investigation. Witness statements, interviews, interrogations, tips, leads, informant statements, audio files, video files, photos, and much more. Too often, agents must rely on their RMS systems which, per above, are not purpose-built for investigations. Investigators also rely heavily on paper files and file cabinets full of notes, search warrants, and physical evidence.
Fortunately, there is an alternative… purpose built investigation case management software that utilizes what I call ‘Case Actions’ as the underlying workflow. Case Actions are the individual actions that an investigation unit takes in pursuit of closing a case. These are the investigative supplemental reports. Case Actions are expansive in nature, and include:
Crime Scene Visits
Interviews
Interrogations
Knock ‘n Talks
Surveillance
DNA
Search Warrants
Affidavits
Controlled Buys
Arrests
… and much, much more. You get the idea, though.
By effectively logging each Case Action in a particular Case, the investigators (and management) are able to quickly and visually recognize the status of the case, and what further actions should be taken. Each Case Action leads to new information… which leads to new Case Actions. And the beat goes on. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, enough information is garnered to close the case. That’s the power of Case Action based workflow.
With the Case Action based approach, each Case Action is tied to Persons, Locations, Vehicles, etc. As a result, robust dossiers of these things are built without the individual agent(s) even realizing it.
By utilizing an investigation case management solution that is based upon Case Actions, law enforcement can leverage information from previously-entered data such as telephone numbers, evidence items, addresses, persons, gang members, etc. The Case Actions feed themselves – and each other – to build a valuable repository of investigative information.
An example: A detective has received a tip that Doug Wood is involved in a particular criminal activity. By accessing her Case Action-based system, she quickly learns that Doug Wood has been a Suspect in Case 1 (belonging to an entirely different investigator), and a Witness in Case 2 (belonging to a third investigator).
She also learns (via Case Actions performed by the Gang Unit) that Doug Wood shares an address with a confirmed Gang Member and goes by the nickname ‘Woody’. She also sees Doug’s previous addresses, telephone numbers, work history, social media accounts and so on… each of which has been logged as part of completely unique Case Actions.
That is the power of Case Actions based investigation management software. Because each previous Case Action involving Doug Wood was logged, the current investigator has a goldmine of information at her fingertips.
Case Closed Software is the leading provider of Case Action based investigation case management software for law enforcement. Contact Us for a demo today!
Several times each week, I receive an inquiry from a PD, task force, or Sheriff’s office asking if my investigation case management software, Case Closed Software, can interface with a particular Records Management System (RMS). The question stems from the investigation unit’s desire to have a purpose-built, flexible solution designed to help their agents stay organized and work more efficiently.
Let’s face it… RMS software, by and large, is not designed for managing major cases. Agencies know it, and the RMS vendors know it. For them, the notion of managing the complexities of major case investigations is an afterthought at best.
(The answer I give to these inquiries, by the way, is that any good investigation management software should have capabilities to ingest data from other law enforcement products, including RMS).
The more important point, however, is recognizing that criminal investigators gather vasts amounts of information during the course of an investigation. Witness statements, interviews, interrogations, tips, leads, informant statements, audio files, video files, photos, and much more. Too often, agents must rely on their RMS systems which, per above, are not purpose-built for investigations. Investigators also rely heavily on paper files and file cabinets full of notes, search warrants, and physical evidence.
Fortunately, there is an alternative… purpose built investigation case management software that utilizes what I call ‘Case Actions’ as the underlying workflow. Case Actions are the individual actions that an investigation unit takes in pursuit of closing a case. Case Actions are expansive in nature, and include:
Crime Scene Visits
Interviews
Interrogations
Knock ‘n Talks
Surveillance
DNA
Search Warrants
Affidavits
Controlled Buys
Arrests
… and much, much more. You get the idea, though.
By effectively logging each Case Action in a particular Case, the investigators (and management) are able to quickly and visually recognize the status of the case, and what further actions should be taken. Each Case Action leads to new information… which leads to new Case Actions. And the beat goes on. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, enough information is garnered to close the case. That’s the power of Case Action based workflow.
WIth the Case Action based approach, each Case Action is tied to Persons, Locations, Vehicles, etc. As a result, robust dossiers of these things are built without the individual agent(s) even realizing it.
By utilizing an investigation case management solution that is based upon Case Actions, law enforcement can leverage information from previously-entered data such as telephone numbers, evidence items, addresses, persons, gang members, etc. The Case Actions feed themselves – and each other – to build a valuable repository of investigative information.
An example: A detective has received a tip that Doug Wood is involved in a particular criminal activity. By accessing her Case Action-based system, she quickly learns that Doug Wood has been a Suspect in Case 1 (belonging to an entirely different investigator), and a Witness in Case 2 (belonging to a third investigator).
She also learns (via Case Actions performed by the Gang Unit) that Doug Wood shares an address with a confirmed Gang Member and goes by the nickname ‘Woody’. She also sees Doug’s previous addresses, telephone numbers, work history, social media accounts and so on… each of which has been logged as part of completely unique Case Actions.
That is the power of Case Actions based investigation management software. Because each previous Case Action involving Doug Wood was logged, the current investigator has a goldmine of information at her fingertips.
Case Closed Software is the leading provider of Case Action based investigation case management software for law enforcement. Contact Us for a demo today!
In the first chapters of this series, Managing Major Cases, I focused on what defines a major case… and what are some of the unique problems associated with different major case ‘types’. For reference, you can find our previous chapters below:
In this chapter, I want to overview the operational structure of Major Case Management.
The Command Triangle
Many Commonwealth countries (and some larger US jurisdictions) define Major Case Management roles within what’s called a “Command Triangle”. Specifically, per the diagram below, jurisdictions within countries such as Great Britain, and Canada define three (3) primary roles – a Major Case Manager who is responsible for the effective governance of the investigation, a Primary Investigator who reports to the Major Case Manager, and a File Coordinator who is responsible for coordination for internal communication and case file management.
Let’s take a look at the responsibilities of each role:
As part of this Command Triangle, the Major Case Manager is accountable for the overall investigation. He or She determines investigation strategies, identifies and manages investigative resources, conducts case reviews, and all other high-level management functions.
The Primary Investigator typically reports to the Major Case Manager and is responsible for tasks including preparation of the case file for status meetings, ensuring that assignments are completed in a timely fashion, identification of resources required for the investigation, and report any major case updates to the Major Case Manager.
Also reporting to the Major Case Manager is the File Coordinator. Their job is also multi-faceted, and includes tasks such as scrutinizing the documents created during the process of the investigation to ensure the completeness and quality, ensuring that tips and leads are assigned and managed, ensuring the security of the case file(s), ensuring that all case actions are logged into the investigative case management software, and more.
Within these three roles are any number of supervisors and line staff that perform interviews, collect evidence, communicate with the media, and so on. Not to beat a dead horse here, but I’ll point out again that all of these roles may be performed by just a few people in some jurisdictions.
The Command Triangle vs. The Major Case Framework
I believe in The Command Triangle model but also strongly support a more US-centric model – The Major Case Framework. Perhaps the differences are subtle, but a Triangle is a hard shape with defined lengths and known, predictable angles. A Framework, however, is just that – a frame which, by nature, allows for additional flexibility than a hard shape. A frame is designed to support a structure, not confine it.
It’s this flexibility that makes the Major Case Framework ideally suited for the U.S. market. By that, I mean there are 200 or 300 law enforcement agencies in Canada, the majority of which have dozens or hundreds of officers. Down here, there are over 18,000 law enforcement agencies ranging in size from NYPD (More than 50,000 Officers) to Frenchtown, New Jersey (3 Officers). This type of variance requires the flexibility of a framework.
So, what is the Major Case Framework?
As noted in discussing The Command Triangle, managing major cases generally consists of organizational groups that perform different, but equally important, roles. The Major Case Framework, however, better recognizes the true nature of investigations by acknowledging from the outset that many, and sometimes all, of the roles are performed by only a small number of individuals and that role flexibility is part of day to day investigation work.
There are four main organizational groups within the Major Case Framework. They are defined as:
Command: Personnel who establish standard operating procedures, guidelines, and policies, along with the direction that ensures departmental compliance with mandates and laws. The responsibility for the specific directions that a MCM Team takes falls into the hands of those in the Command role. Some examples of Command roles include Chiefs of Police, Sheriffs, Task Force Commanders, and Commissioners.
Command Staff: Personnel who are charged with the high-level implementation of the policies driven by those in the Command role. CID unit heads, divisional Captains, and task force Directors are examples of the roles that fall into this group.
Supervisor: Personnel who manage, control, and direct the actual resources of the MCM Team. There are any number of ranks that fill this important role, including Lieutenants and Sergeants, but – in general – the Supervisor is the individual who holds responsibility for the actual control of the personnel involved in the daily activities of the investigation.
Line/Support: Personnel who perform the day to day tasks related to the investigation. These are the Detectives, Investigators, Technicians, Deputies, Analysts, and a host of other titles that are working the investigation at the ground level. The success of this organizational group.
As noted in the MCM Framework diagram, in many organizations ‘Commanders’ will find themselves performing Line/Support functions, and Supervisors will often find themselves doing the roles defined in ‘Command Staff’. American Law Enforcement, particularly small and medium-sized agencies and task forces, require the flexibility of the framework in order to succeed.
It is important that any agency’s case management systems and processes allow for the flexibility of both the Command Triangle and the Command Framework.
Douglas Wood is CEO of Crime Technology Solutions | Case Closed Software, a leading provider of serious investigation software to law enforcement, state bureaus, DA offices, and other investigative units. Doug can be reached directly HERE.
Here in Part Three, I want to discuss the second ‘type’ of Major Cases – Multi-Incident Major Cases and – specifically – the problems associated with trying to investigate a case while related crimes are still occurring. (Spoiler Alert: It’s stressful)
Based upon interviews I have conducted with CID Commanders, Sheriffs, District Attorneys, and other law enforcement experts, there are several types of Multi-Incident Major Cases. Based on the patterns of the crimes, Multi-Incident Major Cases are classified into three basic categories – Mass crimes, Spree crimes, and Serial crimes
Mass Crimes – A Major Case mass crime involves multiple victims at one location during one continuous period of time, whether it is done within a few minutes or over a period of days. The term ‘mass murder’ springs to mind, and invokes images of Dylann Roof(Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina), James Holmes (2012 Aurora, CO. shooting in which he killed 12 people and injured 70 others at a movie theater), and James Loughner (2011 Tuscon, AZ shooting that killed 6 people and severely wounded US Representative Gabrielle Giffords).
Dylann Roof, James Holmes, and James Loughner
There are other types of Major Case mass crimes, however, including mass assault, mass human smuggling, and other horrible crimes that need no further illustration here.
Spree Crimes – Spree criminals commit two or more serious crimes with two or more victims, but at more than one location. An important distinction about spree crimes is that there is no ‘cooling off’ period between the crimes.
Mark Barton
An unfortunate example of a spree crime is that of Mark Barton. On July 29th, 1999, he walked into his office at Momentum Securities and opened fire, killing four people. Then he went next door to another company and killed five more people. Earlier in the day he had also murdered his wife and their two children. Multiple crimes in multiple locations with no cooling off.
Another example of a spree crime is the armed robber who hits a slew of pre-chosen banks on the same day, terrorizing employees in the process. The examples here are too numerous to mention, but they become Major Cases by virtue of their spree qualities. Again, this shows multiple crimes in multiple locations with no cooling off.
Serial Crimes – Serial criminals commit multiple crimes with multiple victims. Unlike spree criminals, however, serial criminals commit their crimes on distinctly separate occasions. There is a cooling off period between crimes.
Uniquely, serial criminals tend to plan their crimes meticulously and pre-select their victims and locations. Unlike mass crimes and spree crimes, serial crimes are differentiated in that the perpetrator tends to carefully select their victims, have cooling-off periods between crimes, and plan them carefully. Examples of serial criminals (especially serial killers) are far too easy to find and include The Zodiac Killer (in California in the late 1960s), Ted Bundy (confessed to killing 30 women), and Dennis Raider (The BTK Murderer who killed 10 people in Wichita between 1974 and 1991
A unique problem with Multiple Incident Major Cases
The major problem for law enforcement investigating Multiple Incident Major Cases, especially those that fall in the ‘serial’ category, is that new crimes are committed even as the investigation is underway. Resources can be stretched to their thinnest when a new crime is added to the serial list, and the public pressure for an arrest can overwhelm even the hardest of investigators. Hello, stress.
A common attribute of the successful serial crime investigators that I have spoken with is their ability to separate the pressure from the work. The crimes and their timing are unpredictable, the public demand for a resolution is powerfully serious, and ‘interested parties’ (think politicians) are breathing down the investigators’ necks. That’s a lot of pressure.
Just as in any profession, untreated stress can lead to major consequences. These consequences not only affect the individual investigator, but also those with whom he or she has daily contact, including family and friends. The investigators I have spoken with help alleviate the pressure through:
Taking care of themselves physically,
Ensuring that workload is spread as evenly as possible, and
Taking time to partake in leisure and family.
(A quick point of clarity and a disclaimer: Any discussion around the differences between mass criminals, spree criminals, and serial criminals is going to be lively, and is an ongoing source for debate among criminologists. This posting will undoubtedly include characteristics and definitions that some readers may not entirely agree with.)
Douglas Wood is CEO of Crime Technology Solutions | Case Closed Software, a leading provider of serious investigation software to law enforcement, state bureaus, DA offices, and other investigative units. Doug can be reached directly HERE.
(March 5, 2018) Austin, TX – Case Closed Software® announced today that one of the largest constitutional tax collectors in the state of Florida has selected Case Closed Cloud™ as its next-generation investigative case management platform. The county office serves approximately 1.5M residents, and is involved in the collection of taxes and the investigation of all related criminal cases. Through Case Closed Cloud, the agency will easily manage files and documents associated with individual cases and specific case actions.
The agency acts an independent agency to be free from influence by local or state agencies that have the power to levy taxes, and serves the county as its agent for the administration of varying taxes.
“A unique feature of Case Closed Cloud is the ability for agencies to use their own forms in conjunction with the software”, said Douglas Wood, president of Case Closed Software. “The tax collector’s office will have full access to all of the materials they need, wherever they need them, through our cloud-based case management software”. Case Closed Cloud is an innovative new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) investigation management platform from Crime Tech Solutions, LLC – a leading provider of software to law enforcement, state agencies, and other investigative agencies.
“Case Close Cloud is an innovative new offering, and is already disrupting the case management industry”, said Douglas Wood, the company’s founder and chief executive. “This new customer chose us specifically for our unparalleled feature set, and because they can literally start using the system immediately without any internal IT headaches.”
Case Closed Software offers its software in both ‘on-premise’ and ‘cloud-based’ deployments, meaning that customers can quickly deploy the functionality in the manner that best suits their business requirements.
A new solution for big data policing is answering the question “Can my agency afford big data policing?“. Strategic partners Visallo™ and Case Closed Software™ have built an affordable alternative to the types of solutions sold by Palantir Technologies™, IBM, and other massive tech companies.
The Visallo | Case Closed offering is the only affordable alternative for law enforcement agencies who know that the practice of crime analysis and criminal investigations management can be much worse than looking for a needle in a haystack. It’s actually pieces of needles hidden across many haystacks.
Finding those pieces and putting them together requires a metal detector and soldering gun. Visallo is the metal detector. Case Closed Software is the soldering iron.
Download our Pieces of Needles and Many Haystacks synopsis now, and contact us through the form below for more information:
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The Peach State county, serving tens of thousands of residents, selected Case Closed Software after speaking with existing users and testing the functionality with their own data. Case Closed Software will help the county’s Sheriff’s Office and associated Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force work investigations more efficiently with a goal to close criminal cases more quickly.
The task force – consisting of natural resources law enforcement agents from Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri – selected Case Closed Cloud due to its ease-of-use, quick deployment model, and cost-effective pricing.
Douglas Wood is CEO of 
Douglas Wood is CEO of 
