THE MANUAL IS ORGANIZED TO MEET THE INFORMATION NEEDS OF THE FIRST-TIME USER OF EVIDENCE-TRACKING SYSTEMS. SECTIONS CORRESPOND TO THE SEQUENCE OF STEPS TO BE TAKEN IN IMPLEMENTING AND OPERATING SUCH SYSTEM. THE PLANNING SECTION PROVIDES GUIDELINES TO HELP DETERMINE WHETHER SPECIAL EVIDENCE-TRACKING TECHNIQUES ARE REQUIRED FOR A GIVEN CASE. ELEMENTS BEARING UPON THE CHOICE BETWEEN COMPUTER-BASED, MANUALLY-OPERATED, OR SEMI-AUTOMATED SYSTEMS ARE CONSIDERED, AND SUGGESTIONS ARE OFFERED ON PROCEDURES FOR SETTING AND MAINTAINING REALISTIC COST AND PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES. A SECOND SECTION DISCUSSES THE VARIOUS PROCEDURES THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED WHEN PREPARING A CASE INVOLVING USE OF AN EVIDENCE-TRACKING SYSTEM. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDELINES SUGGEST WAYS TO SCREEN THE DOCUMENT FILE AND SELECT ONLY THOSE MATERIALS THAT WARRANT INTENSIVE RETRIEVAL AND ANALYSIS; WAYS TO CREATE USEFUL AND EFFECTIVE CASE INDEXES; METHODS FOR SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWING AND SUMMARIZING SELECTED DOCUMENTS IN THE FORM OF CODED INFORMATION; APPROACHES TO SPECIAL SECURITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY PROBLEMS; AND WAYS TO USE SPECIAL TEMPORARY PERSONNEL TO SUPPLEMENT REGULAR STAFF MEMBERS. A WIDE RANGE OF IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES GEARED TO SPECIFIC CASE TREATMENT IS DESCRIBED. THE APPENDIXES PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON EVIDENCE TRACKING. ONE APPENDIX DISCUSSES STRATEGIES FOR USING EVIDENCE-TRACKING SYSTEMS IN THREE CRIME AREAS: ANTITRUST, MEDICAID FRAUD, AND LAND FRAUD. (RCB)