This post relates to use of third-party investigative software, which considers software used to collect, analyse, and report on issues/breaches of policy.
1. Which departments conduct investigations into issues/breaches of policy?
Climate Change, Environment and Transport
Transformation and Business Services
People and Culture
Performance and Partnerships
Please note, not all of these service areas may use third-party software to conduct the investigations.
2. How many FTE’s (full time equivalent) work on investigations in each department?
Devon County Council (DCC) does not record the proportion of staff time spent undertaking investigations, therefore DCC does not hold this information.
3. How many FTEs focus on fraud (and note the number of fraud specialists specifically)?
DCC does not hold this information, as FTE’s are available to pick up cases as and when allocation is required. There are no specific fraud specialists at the Council. Fraud investigations are undertaken within the Council’s internal audit service.
4. Is third-party investigative software procured by a centralised information technology (IT) team or by each investigation department?
Directly via the digital and technology service or directly from services via the strategic procurement service.
5. What was the overall spend on third-party investigative software last year?
6. On an annual basis, how has overall spend on third-party investigative software changed in the past 3 years? Please provide as a percentage
In relation to questions 5 and 6, compliance with this request would exceed the appropriate cost limit under Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which is £450 or 18 hours of officer time. DCC can confirm this information is held, however DCC does not record whether an application constitutes investigative software. To review the total spend across all services would require a review of all IT contracts to determine whether the application is focused on investigations. This would need to be cross referenced with financial records to collate the requested information.
The Council’s IT Department has a record of 264 contracts for IT related services. There are also numerous contracts of this nature held locally within individual service areas. To find and collate the information requested for each contract would take 30 minutes. 30 x 264 = 132 hours, which far exceeds the 18 hour appropriate limit under the legislation.
Under the Act, there is a duty to provide advice and assistance as to how a request can be refined to fit within the appropriate limit. The Council is aware of specific instances of investigation software in use within the Trading Standard Service. If the scope of this request was narrowed solely to this service, information would be available within the 18 hour appropriate limit.
7. What are the reasons for this change?
DCC does not hold this information.
8. Please populate the following table
| Category of investigative software | Description | Does your council use this type of software? | Approximate annual spend, £k, last available year | Name of your current software provider(s) |
| Case management software | Software used as a central hub to manage cases (from incident to reporting), including to ingest and manage relevant evidence, track case progress, and prepare reports for court proceedings. | |||
| Financial investigation software | Software designed for extracting, cleaning, analysing and / or visualising financial data and information to investigate fraud or other financial crimes. | |||
| Covert operations software | Software for planning, managing, and executing covert operations, including surveillance management, undercover operations, intelligence gathering and secure communication tools. | |||
| Other investigative software | Please provide a high-level summary of what others include. |
Compliance with this request would exceed the appropriate cost limit under Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which is £450 or 18 hours of officer time. DCC can confirm this information is held, however DCC does not record whether an application constitutes investigative software. To review the total spend across all services would require a review of all IT contracts to determine whether the application is focused on investigations. This would need to be cross referenced with financial records to collate the requested information.
The Council’s IT Department has a record of 264 contracts for IT related services. There are also numerous contracts of this nature held locally within individual service areas. To find and collate the information just from the IT related services would take 30 minutes per contract. 30 x 264 = 132 hours, which far exceeds the 18 hour appropriate limit under the legislation.
Under the Act, there is a duty to provide advice and assistance as to how a request can be refined to fit within the appropriate limit. The Council is aware of specific instances of investigation software in use within the Trading Standard Service. If the scope of this request was narrowed solely to this service, information would be available within the 18 hour appropriate limit.