Summary: In 1975, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiated a new approach to investigations, replacing caseload management with a quality over quantity approach.
Limitations in using this approach resulted from the lack of a clear definition of a quality case or priority area and inadequate coordination with U.S. attorneys. Accomplishment statistics (consisting of convictions, fines, savings, recoveries, and fugitive locations) are the only systematically recorded information of the FBI on investigative results. These statistics were misleading because the format did not explain what the statistics meant and how dollar values had been determined, also the FBI had not established specific criteria on how accomplishments were to be claimed by field officers. Because of problems in the new approach, the FBI developed a new information system, the Resource Management Information System, to manage and allocate resources more effectively. It is expected to provide: a better basis for determining quality and allocating resources, more comprehensive and integrated data, and better criteria for determining and controlling the validity of investigative results.
