The Paper File Tracking module tracks the whereabouts of originals (not copies) of offender paper documents.
This module does not create or edit actual files. It creates and edits file references so that the physical files themselves can be tracked. TAG tracks every file's location (where it is) and allocation (who has it) at all times.
Files are tied to the offender's unique identifying number, not to the contact or event history. Each file is identified by type (Community/Institution) and subtype (user-definable labels, such as Warrant, Case Management, Medical Record), and by a series of up to four numbers:
File #: unique, system-generated, offender-specific, starting at 1.
Volume #: numerical sequence within a File #.
Cross Reference #: the Case/Info # in jurisdictions where there is one file per legal case.
Close-File #: system-generated, and usually formatted as a four-digit year plus a sequence number.
The unique identifying number for each file is the File # and Volume #.
The Close-File # is defined by your TAG administrator, and is generated by TAG when a contact or case is closed. The Close-File # usually has the numbers of the year when the file was closed; this makes it easier to determine which files to archive.
Valid file locations are agency locations. There can be many file locations within a single agency location.
Files are allocated either to a specific officer or to a "Non-Officer status" such as Merged, Destroyed, In-Transit (between locations) or Superseded (changed to another type).
Depending on the setup at your facility, TAG can automatically create a paper file tracking record when a new offender record is created on the Assign Offender ID screen, or when a new legal case is recorded on the Legal Cases screen. This is optional; your facility may not require a paper files tracking record to be automatically created by TAG.
If your facility does require TAG to automatically create a paper file tracking record, and you need just one paper file tracking record to track all offender paper files, then it will be automatically created from the Assign Offender ID screen. If your facility requires a paper file tracking record to track paper files for each legal case, then the paper file tracking record will be automatically generated from the Legal Cases screen.
If an offender is on active probation and is re-arrested, then no paper file tracking record will be autogenerated at his/her re-arrest. Instead, the offender is linked to his/her original paper file tracking record. The office receiving the offender will manually receive the paper file (arrest report).
If your business practices do not require the autogeneration of a paper file tracking record, then you can create paper file tracking records on the Create/Edit Offender Files screen.
learn how to create and edit offender files.
learn how to inquire on offender files.
learn how to track transferred files.
learn how to receive transferred files.
learn how to transfer files internally.
learn how to merge and unmerge files.
learn how to view offender files currently 'on the shelf' at a given file location.