Client
Miami Dade County SPIRIT Solution
On the Web
www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/clerk/TrafficCourt.htm Project
Human Services
Shortcut to
Business Challenge
How Accenture Helped
High Performance Delivered Executive Summary
The award winning SPIRIT electronic document management solution has transformed the Miami-Dade County Traffic Court Division into a "paperless court," significantly improving overall efficiency and effectiveness. Business
Challenge Traffic Court in Miami-Dade County was growing quickly. The
number of citations written annually increased from 576,805 in 1995 to 763,224
in 1999, resulting in the filing of over two million documents in the Clerk's
Traffic Division.
With the increased volume of traffic cases, the actions
needed on each case, and the number of documents that must be handled for each
case created a monumental paper trail. Not only were case files being lost or
misplaced, but paperwork backlogs up to several weeks were not uncommon.
Ultimately, cases were not always set for court dates within speedy trial
timeframes.
How Accenture Helped
The Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts Traffic
Division wanted to streamline its traffic court operation and improve
efficiency. Accenture was selected to bring its expertise to the project.
Working together with the Clerk of Courts, Accenture designed the SPIRIT
(Simultaneous Paperless Image Retrieval Information Technology) Project—a
series of information systems based upon the design and implementation of
imaging technology.
With Accenture's guidance, SPIRIT's innovative programs
were successfully delivered. The Calendaring Workbench, a rules-based
client/server application implemented in 1995, schedules an average of 15,000
cases each week for the 14 traffic divisions and 23 traffic courtrooms within
Miami-Dade County.
The Imaging and Workflow management functions, implemented in January 1998, directly addressed Dade County's paper document management problems. By scanning and indexing all documents up front, case files could be
immediately accessible by anyone. All document processing functions were
transformed from pushing paper to prioritized electronic workflow, with
complete management visibility and control. Information Counters throughout the
county now have access to the electronic case folders, enabling the clerks to
handle walk-in traffic more effectively. All forms that must be created by the
clerks are now automatically populated with the information known by the
system, vastly reducing the time create them and virtually eliminating errors.
Each action in court creates new documents that must be
tracked and stored in the case history file. In the past the quality,
legibility, and accuracy of these documents often created problems in the
courtroom. The Courtroom Processing functions in SPIRIT directly address these
and other similar issues by downloading case data and images into dedicated
courtroom servers, allowing the clerk to reorder calendars based on judge and
attorney preferences, providing the judge with a easy to use "workbench " to
enter case dispositions, and automatically creating forms and orders as a
result of judge actions.
High Performance
Delivered
The various components of the SPIRIT technology
transformed the Traffic Court Division into a "paperless court," significantly
improving overall efficiency and effectiveness. The SPIRIT document management system is much more than an electronic filing cabinet. Sometimes the end result of delivered
innovation is a series of seemingly simple improvements. When grouped together,
these improvements create a complete operational overhaul. SPIRIT provides the
Clerk 's Traffic Division staff with an efficient way to manage the hundreds of
thousands of traffic cases filed each year and meets its goals. The division is
handling and processing 30 percent more citations now than in 1995, with a 167
percent increase in infraction cases "set for courts"—all with 15 percent less
staff.
According to Judge Slom, Administrative County Court Judge,
"the implementation of the SPIRIT system has resulted in the improvement of
many of our courtroom operations. It is my pleasure…to be part of this
innovative leap into the future of the paperless courtroom."
As a testament to the SPIRIT electronic document management system's success, the project was awarded the Solutions Achievement Award in the large jurisdiction category in December, 2001, by Public Technology, Inc. PTI annually showcases examples of technology excellence in the public sector. To Top |