The implementation of SENTINEL results in the consolidation and simplification of processes, and significantly reduces the dependence on paper forms and on the transfer and filing of those forms. SENTINEL documents and manages cases from inception to closure. SENTINEL provides web-based access for all authorized users and an improved search and indexing capability, yielding access to all relevant data to which the user is permitted access. SENTINEL maintains an auditable record of all transactions.
Upon approval, the SENTINEL system serializes and uploads the documents into the SENTINEL repositories, where the documents will become part of the official FBI case file.
Supervisors, reviewers, and others involved in the approval process can review, comment, and approve the insertion of documents into the appropriate FBI electronic case files. SENTINEL provides FBI employees the ability to create case documents and submit them through an electronic workflow process. SENTINEL provides management for cases, records, tasks, workflow, and collected items, as well as search and reporting capabilities that will replace the current, paper-based case management system and its associated functions. The FBI has prepared this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to summarize the privacy issues arising from conversion of its paper-based records to an electronic system and the mitigations that have been undertaken in the creation and implementation of SENTINEL. SENTINEL, an automated case management system, will transform the way that the FBI does business by allowing the Bureau to move from a primarily paper-based case management system to an electronic record system. The FBI currently uses paper as its system for maintaining records while electronically managing the information. The FBI uses the case file to manage all criminal and intelligence gathering activities, as well as for personnel (support) and administrative matters. As a result, the case file includes documentation from the inception of a case to its conclusion. The case file is the central system for holding these records and managing investigative resources. In conducting investigations, employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are required to record all activity and document all information using case files.
Section 1: Description of the Information System Ryan, Senior Component Official for Privacy, FBIĪpproved by: Erika Brown Lee, Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer, U.S.