03/30/04
THE
DOCUMENT CONVERSION LAB:
Digitizing FBI Major Case Files ... by the Warehouse Full
Last
winter, FBI headquarters got a call from a field
case agent who said he'd seized a warehouse with
thousands of boxes of financial records related to
a criminal investigation. He said, "We need
to analyze the material for prosecution, but it will
take years to go through it all. Any ideas how to
speed up the process?"
Absolutely!
This is a job for the FBI's Document Conversion Lab,
or DocLab, stood up in May 2002 as part of our new
Records Management Division.
What's
DocLab? A team of FBI technicians, based
in Washington, who scan and digitize hard copy
files and photographs using state-of-the-art technology.
So far, DocLab has scanned more than 9.5 million
images (single pieces of paper), formatting many
of those images into readable text and uploading
them into an FBI electronic application. Once digitized,
the information is easily and rapidly exchanged
between Bureau field offices, joint task forces,
and FBI Headquarters.
Is
that really such a big deal? Yes, more
than you might think. Because it:
- Saves
incredible amounts of time and space. In
the above case, our agents walked away with
a warehouse full of records ... on seven CDs.
- Increases
search capabilities exponentially. Those
millions of pieces of paper can now be searched
electronically in seconds, drawing connections
between people, places, and events -- within
and across cases -- in new and important ways.
- Enables
information-sharing far and wide. The CDs
from the warehouse of financial records, for
example, were copied and shared with the FBI
case agent on the spot. And once uploaded into
the electronic application, the files are instantaneously
key word searchable throughout the FBI.
So
why wasn't this done before? We've been
digitizing records for years, but investigative
priorities in a post 9/11 world of complex, voluminous,
and international evidence calls for focus and
absolute efficiency. DocLab dedicates trained professionals,
working around the clock, who can respond quickly
to urgent needs and major cases around the world.
Here
are just a few examples of what DocLab has done:
- Traveled
to Afghanistan and Iraq to help scan critical
counterterrorism documents;
- Digitized
more than 20,000 pages of records from the D.C.
sniper case, enabling investigators to farm out
leads quickly and prepare for the massive court
cases;
- Took
more than three million paper records in poor
condition and quickly scanned them for a significant
counterintelligence case; and
- Helped
Indianapolis prosecutors meet an urgent court
deadline in a major health care fraud investigation.
It's
yet another example of how the FBI is using cutting-edge
technology to bring terrorists and criminals to justice.
Related
links: Records
Management Division
