Firstly, thank you to eveyone that responded to my post on how to manage
text messages- there was a large response.
In case anyone is interested, here are some of the responses, not all as
there were quite a few:
1) "As it stands we'd recommend the content of texts be (ideally) recorded
much in the same way as a phone message would be on the service user's
record-usually as a written transcript.
I suppose there is a way to download SMS/texts to another format, but is it
practical?"
2) "Perhaps a scheme could be introduced where the title of the text is
always the clients name/case number.
This then provides an opportunity to link the text msg to the client case
file, again this will be dependent on the type of systems you have in place.
I had a client who downloaded a csv file of txt messages from Vodafone.
We processed the messages into a database and then connected this to the
EDRMS system and associated the messages with certain case files. The title
of the message was the case file number."
3) "There is a way to download texts as I know my husband can do this on
his pc using his mobile phone! However, as you say ****, it depends on the
PC you are using having the relevant software - 9 times out of 10 it
probably won't.
I would endorse your comments that a transcript of the text message should
be put on the file with time and date included. Text messages are usually
pretty short so hopefully this wouldn't be too onerous for staff."
4) "Transcription may be a simple option but does it have the same
evidential weight as a download?"
5) "My assumption is that such evidence would carry minimal evidential
weight without sophisticated forensic-type investigation into the
provenance of the message. My understanding is that SMS messages themselves
carry mimimal metadata (unlike emails). They contain the originating
telephone number but this can be very easily falsified (eg by using an
internet SMS sender and entering a false 'sent from' number). I believe the
only way of adding evidential weight would be to interogate the information
held by the telecoms carrier; not something that can be done as a routine
matter of course."
6) "Yes, SMS messages are within the scope of BIP 0008 (part 2 has a
section on 'unstructured messages')
And yes, SMS messages are also included within the scope of the new draft
standard on evidential weight (BS 10008) - see 5.4.3"
Once again thank you- some very interesting thoughts.
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