National Records and Information Management Month is celebrated every April and was created to promote good record keeping practices, strong information management processes and to emphasize the importance of having organized records. Information helps our prosecutors and advocates protect the rights of victims and solid records management assists paralegals and administrative staff in keeping case files organized enabling everyone to better respond to requests and case file questions.

During COVID-19, records and record-keeping are more important than ever as many MCAO teams are teleworking and working with fewer and different resources. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office handles thousands of pieces of information daily including paper documents, case files, police reports, emails, photos, recordings, videos, calendars and more. Records management is valuable and is part of what keeps an office this size moving. MCAO staff undergoes regular training on how to properly handle records and information, how to best secure information and proper records retention policies.

This year, MCAO celebrated several successes in the world of records. Supporting County Attorney Allister Adel’s declaration of transparency, the public records request process has been overhauled. As a result, the community has better access to public records and the wait time has decreased substantially. These changes also allowed a lengthy backlog of requests in existence one year ago to be reduced to just a handful of open requests.

The MCAO Information Technology team continues to work double-time to not only move the paperless-office vision forward but also assist a large workforce of nearly 1,000 employees to become successful and safe teleworkers. The MCAO Records team continues to provide the office with guidance, maintenance and destruction of criminal records and this year their achievements have helped ensure the MCAO continues to thrive in a digital world. The team of 12 employees processed over 25,000 digital and physical cases for destruction along with their corresponding case materials and processed more than 38,000 DPS Disposition Reports.

MCAO is committed to helping the criminal justice system meet the need for immediate, accurate and reliable information and records. We proudly recognize all of the MCAO record-keepers who are embracing the new norm and finding innovative ways to ensure success.

MCAO encourages you to keep your family’s records organized and safe:

• Shred documents with your personal information.
• Destroy labels on prescription bottles.
• Take outgoing mail to the Post Office.
• Keep your passwords private.
• Don’t overshare on social media sites.