THE CASE-FOLLOWING CONCEPT IS COMPOSED OF THE FOLLOWING MAJOR PRECEPTS: EACH ACCUSED OFFENDER PROCEEDS THROUGH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN A SEQUENCE THAT BEGINS WITH ARREST AND ENDS WITH THE COURTS OR CORRECTIONAL AGENCIES; RELEVANT AGENCY PERSONNEL HAVE ACCESS TO INFORMATION OF OFFENDER PROGRESS THROUGH THE SYSTEM AND ARE ABLE TO ADD INFORMATION TO CASE RECORDS FOR GENERAL USE; AND CENTRALIZED RECORDS PROVIDE A STATISTICAL AND MANAGEMENT INFORMATION CAPABILITY FOR THE SYSTEM, THE AGENCY, AND THE CASE. SPECIALIZED COMPUTER PROGRAMS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF AN RJIS BASED ON THE CASE-FOLLOWING CONCEPT INCLUDE PROGRAMS THAT CONTROL OVERALL SYSTEM FUNCTIONS AND PERFORM SPECIFIC USER-ORIENTED DATA PROCESSING. THE SYSTEM OF PROGRAMS CONSISTS OF SIX MAJOR MODULES OPERATING ON A COMMON DATA BASE. THE SWITCHING MODULE CONNECTS THE USER TO THE SYSTEM AND PROVIDES ACCESS TO OTHER LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL SYSTEMS. THE SERVICE MODULE PERFORMS THE SUPPORT FUNCTIONS OF DATA INPUT AND RETRIEVAL, ROUTING, REPORT AND DISPLAY GENERATION, ERROR CONTROL MONITORING, NEED-TO-KNOW DETERMINATIONS FOR ACCESS CONTROL, AND PROTECTION AGAINST SYSTEM FAILURES. ALL CASES IN THE SYSTEM INVOLVING THE INDIVIDUAL ARE LINKED TOGETHER BY THE INDEXING, NUMBERING, AND IDENTIFICATION MODULE. THIS MODULE USES THE NAME, RJIS NUMBER, CASE AND INCIDENT NUMBERS, FINGERPRINTS, AND OTHER IDENTIFIERS TO PROVIDE NECESSARY LINKAGES. THE STATUS AND HISTORY MODULE DETERMINES CASE STATUS, PAST EVENTS, AND SCHEDULED EVENTS. IT ALSO SERVES AS AN AUTOMATIC DOCKET SHEET OR REGISTER FOR ALL CASES AND CAN ABSTRACT KEY EVENTS TO PRODUCE SUMMARY CRIMINAL HISTORIES. THE CALENDARING AND SCHEDULING MODULE COORDINATES INFORMATION ON THE ACCUSED, THE JUDGE, THE PROSECUTION, THE DEFENSE, THE WITNESSES, AND THE EVIDENCE AND PREPARES ALL NECESSARY CALENDARS, LISTS, AND LEGAL DOCUMENTS. OPERATIONAL INFORMATION FOR BOTH SHORT AND LONG RANGE PLANNING AND DECISIONMAKING IS OBTAINABLE THROUGH THE MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION MODULE. INFORMATION ON SYSTEM CONFIGURATION, DATA FLOW CHARTS, AND THE INDIVIDUAL MODULES ARE PROVIDED IN THE REPORT, AND RJIS BENEFITS ARE SUMMARIZED. (JAP)