According to the UNODC “There is clear evidence that well-planned crime prevention strategies not only prevent crime and victimization, but also promote community safety and contribute to sustainable development of countries. Effective, responsible crime prevention enhances the quality of life of all citizens. It has long-term benefits in terms of reducing the costs associated with the formal criminal justice system, as well as other social costs that result from crime.” (Economic and Social Council resolution 2002/13, annex)
In many developing countries, the increasing levels and nature of crimes taking place are constraining the success of the national police forces’ and their objectives. This is creating the need for an improved law enforcement system that works together in detecting, preventing, and responding to criminal activities.
The way to achieve this is through effective sharing of law enforcement information that spans across multiple organisations such as the entire police force, other law enforcement and government agencies, as well as relevant communities. With such a variety of stakeholders involved, the fundamental component for sharing of criminal information is through the adoption and effective use of enterprise-wide information systems. Systems that allow for regular capturing of relevant data and for making that data broadly available to authorized users in a timely and secure manner; thus delivering effective crime prevention, noticeable crime reduction and overall improved national security.
The Crime Occurrence Tracking System (COTS) by SIL is a solution that embraces the police processes with both English and French speaking countries. COTS is based on technologies that provide an efficient and effective means of tracking criminal cases and crime occurrences. The primary objective of COTS is to automate the process of case creation and case handling to enable the Mauritius Police Force to respond to the demands of law enforcement. In addition, it provides intelligence and reporting facilities on the progress of case resolutions, both from a management and investigator perspective.