Project Description
The challenge
Subject access requests from the public, regarding information held about them, has been increasing rapidly over the years.
Before the council discovered e-Redact, they reviewed client cases manually and applied a marker pen to remove sensitive information. The issue was that, often, sensitive data remained visible underneath the pen and the redactor had to search through an entire document for repeat instances of a word. In addition, the paperwork had to be photocopied twice and locating the manually redacted copy following release was problematic due to incorrect filing.
Altogether, the entire procedure was time consuming, expensive and unreliable.
The strategy
There was a very obvious need for an electronic redaction system whereby documents could be scanned, saved and re-opened when further alterations were required and when output needed to be shared with other team members.
E-Redact was therefore implemented as a matter of urgency due to spiralling costs and issues caused by human error.
The benefits
Redaction process is wholly electronic
No requirement for additional staff
Search term functionality improved accuracy and quality
Text remained visible under opaque layer
Simple to use
Hours of redacting time saved
E-files instantly emailed to the requester
Significant cost savings on postage and photocopying
Redactions applied later to larger documents
Irreversible output that aligns with PD:0008
100% FOI, DPA, EIR compliance