'Sentinel' To Replace FBI's Virtual Case File

The FBI is set to launch the Sentinel program to build, among other things, a case management system, replacing the now defunct Virtual Case File project

Sentinel is to be designed along the lines of the Federal Investigative Case Management Solution (FICMS), which will provide a blueprint for federal law enforcement case management systems. Senior bureau officials from across the country recently met in Washington to review the concept of operations for Sentinel.

Using the name Sentinel "helps remove any confusion about what FICMS is and what the actual solution for the FBI will be," said William Price Roe, senior policy advisor for Justice Department Chief Information Officer Vance Hitch.

Sentinel is "the first implementation of an FICMS framework," Roe said. Because it is based on a service-oriented architecture, other agencies will be able to use the core solution.

Mueller signaled that the FBI would abandon VCF.

The bureau plans to run the Sentinel procurement through the National Institutes of Health's Government Wide Acquisition Contract office, officials said. NIH and FBI officials are overseeing a technical feasibility study for Sentinel, officials said.

"Sentinel will go beyond [the capabilities of] VCF," the official added. "It is part of a larger service-oriented architecture, to develop and deploy services and capabilities to FBI employees." Bureau officials said they expect to be able to add, remove or modify the system's capabilities more easily because of its service-oriented architecture.

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Definition: Sentinel \Sen"ti*nel\, n. One who watches or guards; specifically (Mil.), a soldier set to guard an army, camp, or other place, from surprise,to observe the approach of danger, and give notice of it; a sentry.

It will be very interesting to watch the development of Sentinel, from the various capabilities being considered to what directions they may lead. The total cost of the new computer system remains unknown.