SentrySIS has launched a significant new addition to its crime management platform: Case Files, a dedicated Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS) designed to help national retailers, business crime partnerships, and policing teams manage investigations more efficiently and securely.
Case Files provides a structured, digital workspace where all aspects of an investigation, from incident data and offender profiles to video evidence and witness statements, can be gathered, organised, and shared. It helps teams reduce duplication, increase visibility, and streamline their investigative processes from beginning to end.
Already adopted by country-wide crime partnerships across the UK, the module supports a range of investigation types, including criminal prosecutions, civil recovery, and internal resolution.
“The Case Files module has transformed how we manage investigations,” said Dennis Adams, Crime Hub Manager at UKPAC. “We can now link incidents across multiple stores and counties, and seamlessly connect other SentrySIS data, making it easier to build comprehensive cases for police. Uploading and reviewing digital evidence is simple, helping us build stronger cases, faster.”
What is a Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS?)
A Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS) is a secure, centralised platform for collecting, storing, managing, and sharing evidence in digital form. It allows organisations to handle a wide variety of evidence types, from CCTV footage and images to documents, audio files, and witness statements, all within one controlled environment.
For national retailers and crime partnerships, a DEMS like Case Files ensures that evidence is:
- Stored securely in compliance with legal and data protection requirements
- Organised in a way that supports investigation workflows
- Accessible to authorised users while maintaining full audit trails
- Easy to share with enforcement or legal partners in a structured, professional format
By adopting a DEMS, organisations can improve case quality, reduce administrative work, and increase the chances of achieving successful outcomes.
Benefits for National Retailers and Crime Partnerships using DEMS
Case Files delivers measurable benefits to different user groups across the retail and public safety sectors. By focusing on the specific needs of each audience, the module helps ensure investigations are managed in a way that is both efficient and outcome-focused.
- Centralised management of investigations across multiple stores and regions
- Ability to link incidents and evidence to track persistent offenders
- Secure digital storage of CCTV, images, and documentation in one location
- Streamlined processes that reduce administrative burden for store and head office teams
- Improved collaboration with legal teams and police to support successful prosecutions
- Enhanced reporting on recovery amounts and case outcomes for management review
- Shared access to structured case files between member organisations
- Faster identification and tracking of cross-border offenders
- Secure exchange of evidence with police and enforcement agencies
- Centralised intelligence that supports pattern recognition and offender profiling
- Improved case preparation that meets legal and evidential standards
A DEMS Built for Retail and Crime Partnership Investigations
As criminal activity becomes more mobile, organised and digitally complex, traditional ways of managing evidence (including spreadsheets, email trails, and disconnected file systems — are no longer suitable.
Case Files provides a fully integrated Digital Evidence Management System that works across store networks, crime partnerships, and police forces. It enables users to securely link related incidents, manage evidence, and prepare structured case files ready for internal review or legal submission to the police.
National retailers and crime partnerships can use the system to manage repeat offender investigations centrally. At the same time, crime partnerships collaborate with police teams in a secure and consistent environment for digital evidence handling and co-operation.
Key Features and Benefits in Case Files
Centralised Evidence Workspace
Case Files gives users a single location to build and monitor investigations. From the main dashboard, investigators can view all active files, track progress, filter by status or resolution type, and access case-specific data at a glance.
Each case file contains linked elements including:
- Incidents across multiple locations
- Suspect profiles and vehicle data
- CCTV footage and digital media
- Witness statements and internal notes
- Supporting files and documentation
This consolidated approach reduces the need for separate systems or manual cross-referencing, helping teams save time and maintain consistency.
Secure Digital Statement Collection
Witness statements can be created directly within the platform, with options for electronic signatures either in person or via secure remote links. The system supports full MG11 formatting and securely stores signed statements as part of the case file.
This functionality helps eliminate paper-based forms, reduces delays, and supports safer, more accessible engagement with witnesses.
Structured Workflows and Audit Trail
Users can create structured workflows within each case file, outlining investigative stages and assigning tasks to relevant team members. This helps ensure cases are progressed efficiently and consistently, with clear roles and responsibilities.
A real-time activity log records every action taken within a case, supporting transparency, compliance, and accountability which are all key requirements for any DEMS used in regulated environments.
Visual Intelligence and Pattern Recognition
Case Files includes access to SentrySIS Kaleidoscope, a visual crime mapping feature that helps users explore connections between people, offences, locations and vehicles. This interactive view supports intelligence-led investigation by helping identify patterns of offending and linked activity across a retail estate or local area.
For organisations working with organised retail crime or known offender networks, this visual analysis is particularly useful in targeting resources and linking suspects to multiple incidents.
Outcome Tracking and Evidence Sharing
Each case file includes fields for recording financial impact, recovery targets, and final outcomes that are essential for civil recovery teams and legal reporting.
When cases are ready for submission, users can generate:
- A Statement Pack containing all witness statements
- An Evidence Pack with associated media and files
These can be securely downloaded or shared via encrypted links with police, legal teams, or external investigators. Each encrypted link is protected and fully auditable, giving organisations control over access and data security.
Flexible Access and Permissions
Case Files is designed with secure collaboration in mind. Case owners can assign access to other users with defined roles:
- Viewer: read-only access
- Modifier: can add evidence and complete tasks
- Case Owner: full control of the case
This makes it easier for organisations to involve multiple teams or stakeholders in an investigation, without compromising on data integrity or confidentiality. The system ensures that only authorised users can view or contribute to sensitive case material.
Fully Integrated With SentrySIS Applications
Case Files integrates seamlessly with the wider SentrySIS platform of applications, including:
- Intel 360 – for day-to-day crime management, mapping and offender analysis
- Crime Report – for submitting digital crime reports and evidence to police
- Connect Live – for secure, real-time communications and intelligence sharing with other users
This interoperability makes SentrySIS one of the UK’s most comprehensive crime management platforms for national retailers, police forces, private security, BIDS and BCRPs. Case Files enhances this ecosystem by offering a modern, scalable DEMS that supports both day-to-day investigations and larger, more complex cases tracking travelling offenders.
A Purpose-Built DEMS for Retail Crime
With the launch of Case Files, SentrySIS provides its users with a purpose-built Digital Evidence Management System that responds directly to the demands of modern investigation work.
The benefits of adopting Case Files as part of your crime management infrastructure include:
- More efficient investigations through streamlined workflows and centralised data
- Better quality case files with structured evidence and documentation
- Improved collaboration across departments, colleagues and police contacts
- Reduced risk through full audit trails and controlled user access
- Faster outcomes with secure digital evidence sharing and automated reporting tools
Whether your organisation is pursuing prosecution, recovery or internal resolution, Case Files helps ensure that evidence is well-managed, securely stored, and meets the needs of your digital evidence gathering requirements.
It is a system designed not just to hold data, but to move investigations forward with clarity, efficiency and control.
To find out how Case Files can support your investigations, evidence handling and team collaboration, contact the SentrySIS team for more information.