| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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Based on our interactions with foreign judicial and legal delegates when ICMS was presented at international conferences and during local and overseas presentations, ICMS is possibly the first end-to-end criminal case management system in the world. It is a 100% browser-based, end-to-end platform that has transformed court processes into an integrated e-filing, e-workflow and e-court hearing system. It is also possibly the first large-scale multi-agency project in the world in the criminal case management setting that interlinks all the key stakeholders (more than 30 public agencies) into one integrated criminal justice system. The electronic workflow starts from the moment a case is filed and extends from initiation to scheduling, processing, hearing and tracking of all criminal, traffic, coronial and juvenile proceedings, to the time a final verdict is pronounced. It paves the way for boundary-less case information access through complete end-to-end electronic management of a case life cycle. Finally, based on our understanding, it is also the first system in the world that allows AIPs access to their case files electronically, as well make various online applications concerning their case.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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ICMS is an ambitious multi-agency project driven by the State Courts of Singapore in close collaboration with our stakeholders in the criminal justice system. These stakeholders include members of the criminal bar, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the Singapore Prisons Service (PRIS), all 30 other law enforcement agencies, three Warrant Enforcement Units, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and the Probation Services Branch of the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).
Safety and security affect everyone in Singapore. Expeditious disposal of criminal cases ensures that the innocent are acquitted, and those who are guilty and sentenced to custodial terms are placed in institutions for public safety and rehabilitation, on a timely basis. Hence, the entire population in Singapore (i.e. 5.6 million) stand to benefit from the initiative. Furthermore, ICMS benefits AIPs, as they can view their case documents, check the progress of their cases as well as make selected court applications via the online ICMS platform. Based on statistics, between 2015 and 2016, around 25% of accused persons that underwent pre-trial procedures in the State Courts did not engage a lawyer. Therefore, ICMS helps this segment of the society as well, and ensures the criminal justice system remains transparent.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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Given the scale of the ICMS project, considerable funding had to be secured. It was difficult for State Courts to reallocate funding from its existing budget to the ICMS project, as this would have had an adverse impact on other State Courts projects and functions and/or necessitated a significant paring down of the scope and requirements of the ICMS project. The State Courts decided to submit a detailed Reinvestment Funding (RF) proposal to the Ministry of Finance for project funding. A budget was secured and covered the costs of development, implementation and maintenance over a seven-year period.
The driving force for the entire project came from the highest level of leadership in the State Courts. Further, a multi-agency steering committee was set up to guide the vision and direction of the project, and coordinate various aspects of project design and implementation. The committee was chaired by the senior leadership of the State Courts and involved senior management members from participating agencies. The steering committee held regular meetings. This created an effective engagement and communication platform - decisions were made, feedback was sought, and updates were given during the steering committee meetings.
Monthly internal meetings at the State Courts were held to closely supervise the progress of the project. The active involvement of the senior leaders from both the State Courts and our stakeholder agencies, and their willingness to cooperate to defuse and resolve issues, were crucial in ensuring that the project was successfully developed, implemented, and smoothly integrated with the work processes of participating agencies.
At the operational level, a project implementation team was formed to facilitate decision-making on operational matters. An experienced judge from the State Courts Criminal Justice Division was appointed as the ICMS project executive sponsor. The executive sponsor dedicated her time fully to lead the project at the operational level, especially during the development and implementation phases. She also took responsibility for decision-making at the operational level, making prompt decisions on the design of the ICMS work processes.
Senior court administrators familiar with the State Courts’ internal processes, as well as IT experts seconded from the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech), were also involved in the implementation efforts. GovTech is an agency that partners public agencies to develop and deliver secure digital services and applied technology. The agency also builds key platforms and solutions needed to support Singapore as a Smart Nation. GovTech lent its technical expertise as the subject matter expert in the ICMS project.
Ecquaria Technologies was selected as the vendor for the ICMS project via an open tender process. Ecquaria is an experienced vendor that is familiar with implementing State Courts’ case management system.
Throughout the implementation, feedback was constantly sought from the targeted users of the new system, and this enabled State Courts to provide timely project updates and gather feedback. Roadshows and mass briefings were conducted so that the project team could reach out to a wider audience. More than 600 user acceptance tests were conducted in total during various phases. These were followed by several hands-on training sessions.
The project team also opted for a phased rollout of the ICMS, rather than a big bang launch. The project was divided into 4 different phases, with different stakeholder groups being involved in each phase. By starting with a small pilot phase, the project team could quickly address any issues in the system that surfaced during the initial roll-out. This approach allowed the project team to sharpen its focus for decision making and coordination at each stage.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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The Ministry of Finance (MOF) approved the proposal and Reinvestment Funding for the project, which allowed State Courts to secure adequate funding for the project.
During the design stage, the requirements from all stakeholders, namely the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the Singapore Prisons Service (PRIS), all 30 other law enforcement agencies, three Warrant Enforcement Units, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and the Probation Services Branch of the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) were all gathered and considered.
As mentioned in Question 6 previously, senior management from these agencies were invited to be part of the project steering committee, chaired by the Presiding Judge of State Courts. Inputs from these agencies were important in shaping the project.
In addition, GovTech was engaged as a strategic partner, and seconded Information Technology experts to the State Courts to advise on technical matters. The vendor for the ICMS project - Ecquaria Technologies - was also an experienced vendor that was familiar with State Courts’ previous case management system.
After ICMS was rolled out in 2015, State Courts continued to hold regular meetings with partner agencies, and made improvements to the ICMS whenever necessary. Other stakeholders, such as defence counsel, could also channel their feedback concerning ICMS to State Courts, through regular dialogues such as those held with the Law Society of Singapore. State Courts also conducted regular surveys to seek feedback from court users and the general public. Useful feedback concerning ICMS was studied and incorporated from time to time.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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The implementation of ICMS is well aligned with Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), “… to provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. The key benefits, mentioned earlier under Question 3, are aligned to the SDG as follows:
1. All cases are now handled electronically via the system. The e-minute sheets used by judges to enter the orders made and sentences passed are automatically generated as readable PDF documents and stored into the e-case file upon the conclusion of a hearing. This avoids data entry errors by court staff. With data ‘harvested’ from the inception of a case and with judges entering orders at source, accuracy and reliability of data are ensured, thereby promoting the accountability of the criminal justice ecosystem.
2. ICMS allows for filing 24 hours every day, enabling court users to maximise filing deadlines, and to file from the convenience of their offices. Moreover, ICMS enables the timely receipt of applications and documents, as applications and documents are now auto-routed to the inbox of the relevant courts and added to the e-case file almost instantaneously. This enhances transparency for all parties involved.
3. ICMS eliminates the need for physical case file management, leading to storage space savings. Judges can access case documents ahead of hearings and save any notes made. These productivity gains allow judges to focus on the essentials of delivering justice, resulting in more time and attention being devoted to each case. Access to justice is enhanced.
4. ICMS allows for the synchronisation of e-case files across the judge, court officer, interpreter and all parties when a case is being mentioned or heard. All parties can access and verify the contents of the relevant documents at the same time. This enhances transparency and accountability for all parties involved in the case, and ensures the integrity of the criminal justice ecosystem.
5. AIPs are able to file certain applications online without the need to personally travel to State Courts. These include applications to leave jurisdiction, rescheduling of court events, etc. They are also able to upload documents, such as their mitigation plea and supporting documents, into their case files. Consequently, ICMS operationalises Goal 16 by increasing access to justice at all levels.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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As the ICMS is a multi-agency IT project, strong collaboration, commitment and buy-in from our external stakeholders was crucial. To address this issue, an ICMS Steering Committee led by senior members of the Leadership Team of the State Courts and leaders of our external stakeholders was established to provide top level guidance and support for the project. The Steering Committee met regularly to monitor and track the development of the ICMS. The strong leadership commitment as well as dedicated collaboration of our partners were instrumental to the success of the project.
Further, to overcome initial resistance from certain stakeholder groups, and to address the large scale and scope of the project, ICMS was implemented in phases. This allowed the project team to learn from their experiences, and for users to gain confidence in using the system as it was being rolled out progressively in 6-monthly intervals. For instance, the initial phase of ICMS involved selected divisions of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) only, and covered mainly pre-trial processes (e.g. warrants, mentions, charges, bail, etc.). In the second phase, all remaining SPF divisions were included, and the functionalities were expanded to cover appeals and the Youth Court, etc. In the 3rd phase, other law enforcement agencies were brought in, and trial proceedings were added. In the 4th phase, other processes such as Magistrate’s Complaints and Coroners cases were added.
Internally, State Courts’ leadership also put in place change management processes to help administrative staff and judicial officers transition from a paper-based system (which they have grown accustomed to), to a fully digitized case management system. These were achieved via numerous user testings, hands-on sessions and mock court sessions were conducted for the judges and court administrators.
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