The Justice Innovation & Modernization of Services (JIMS) initiative is a major undertaking for Alberta Justice and the courts. Through JIMS, the ministry will ensure it is prepared to address its future business and technology needs.

The initiative will be made up of multiple projects spanning several years. It will improve how the ministry delivers justice services, and will introduce new technical systems to automate processes and support the work of the Ministry.

The JIMS Project Office is a branch of the ministry’s Corporate Services division and is responsible for providing leadership, project management and the dedicated business expertise required to move forward with JIMS.

What is the goal of JIMS?

The goal of JIMS is to develop more efficient and streamlined business processes, supported by modern technology, to expand the ministry’s ability to provide new initiatives and programs, improve access to justice and strengthen the justice system.

Alberta Justice is facing increasingly complex cases and growing case loads that leave little room for innovation in delivering justice services. There is also an increasing need for the ministry to improve access to timely, accurate information for partners such as law enforcement. The JIMS initiative is one way the ministry is working to address these pressures.

Eliminating wasted time and effort and implementing modern technical systems will improve efficiency and allow the ministry to successfully address existing pressures and prepare for new opportunities.

Current steps:
The current phase of the initiative, the JIMS Readiness Project, is committed to finding ways to improve the ministry’s delivery of its core business. It will involve all divisions of Alberta Justice and the judiciary.

In April 2008, Alberta Justice began a detailed examination of its business processes. This examination provides the baseline information for harmonizing processes across the province, provides opportunity to optimize those that are not effective, and allows gaps and areas of overlap to be identified and corrected.

Future direction:
Some of the key goals of the JIMS initiative:

• to harmonize and optimize business processes within the ministry;
• to work with other divisions to develop baseline measures and new performance measurement tools to monitor efficiency and identify bottlenecks;
• to implement new technical systems that can meet the current and future needs of Albertans;
• to make it easier for the public to access information about the justice system in a manner that is convenient for them; and
• to improve the sharing of information with our partners in the justice system.

Contact JIMS:
For more information about the JIMS initiative, please contact the JIMS Project Office at 780-644-8411 or by email at JUST.JIMSProject@gov.ab.ca.