NCJ Number
80625
Date Published
1981
Length
253 pages
Annotation
This report provides a state-of-the-art assessment of computer-aided transcription (CAT). It contains case histories of six sites where official State court transcripts are produced on CAT and presents cost-benefit analyses at each site. The report offers criteria for adopting CAT and guidelines for implementing a system.
Abstract
The 14-month CAT Analysis Project assessed and evaluated the use of CAT to translate stenotype notes in the State courts. Data were gathered during staff visits to eight courts, to all vendors marketing a CAT system, and several freelance reporting firms using CAT. A telephone survey of many additional CAT users was also conducted. The report provides detailed information on the configurations of CAT systems marketed by five vendors. The report examines the mechanics of using a CAT system and provides statistics on the number of official court reporters using the systems. The report compares the performance of official reporters using State court CAT's with production volumes from private agencies doing various mixes of transcript. Analysis of the six case histories reveals that a page of CAT-produced transcript is equal in cost or less costly than a page of manually produced transcript. Time savings have been achieved by one or two CAT reporters in the courts, but their submission times are no better than those of efficient non-CAT reporters. Some reduction in the use of substitute reporters has been achieved by these reporters, however. The report details criteria for assessing the court commitment to efficient reporting using CAT and the reporter commitment to successful transition. Financial aspects of CAT that the report considers include comparing the operation of CAT to a manual system, determining the break-even point, and estimating annual system production. The report discusses alternate management strategies and the intangible benefits of implementing CAT. It also suggests guidelines for selecting a vendor, overseeing CAT implementation, and managing a CAT system. A glossary and several appendixes providing supplementary material or supporting data for the summary statistics are included. Tables, a few footnotes, and a diagram are presented. (Author Summary modified)