Data Quality Management in the public domain: A Case Study within the Dutch Justice System

Abstract

Nowadays, the need for preservation of anonymity within the Justice domain requires the introduction of a Trusted Third Party as an intermediary, while integrating individual databases within its boundaries. Recently, a protocol of this nature was introduced to the Dutch Justice System, concerning records of individuals with a criminal record. After the Trusted Third Party encrypts the records, it is no longer possible to perform checks on the quality of data and correct data anomalies.

This research will examine the concepts of Data Quality, Data Integration, Record Linkage and Trusted Third Party found in the literature. The aforementioned terms are embedded in the generic steps of Data Quality Method, in an effort to demonstrate how the quality of structured judicial data can be managed prior to its encryption, while using two individual DBs as sources of data and a different final recipient. To achieve that, specific DQ dimensions are linked to the domain, data anomalies that affect the quality of matching are assigned to them and relevant approaches to assess and improve the Data Quality are demonstrated.