Purpose The purpose of this article is to explore the documentation work in pre‐trial investigation performed by the police from the records management perspective. The study, undertaken as doctoral research, is meant to give answers to the questions: what kind of information is recorded in the pre‐trial investigation process, how are recordings made, and what are the regulatory and statutory requirements for the recording processes? The aim is to produce new knowledge of the Finnish recordkeeping field and of the relationships between work processes, record management and information systems. Design/methodology/approach This study presents findings from a qualitative explorative case study. Data collection methods were based on triangulation of data sources. Data were collected for the period 1999‐2004. Findings Documentation of activities proved to be a coherent part of pre‐trial investigation. Various activities in the investigation process are reported exactly, with information on criminal cases captured as a record or recorded in registers. Diverse information systems are used in the pre‐trial investigation process. The relationships between tasks, information systems and information management proved to be slight. Information systems do not serve the pre‐trial investigation process in the desired way. Several different legal and statutory requirements concern operations in pre‐trial investigation and their documentation. There are divergences in compliance with legal norms and guidelines depending on types of norms, actors, tasks and cases. The records management norms are not very well‐known, and compliance with them is poor. Originality/value There is an obvious need for studies aimed at examining the relations between task performance, information systems and documentation.
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