Records are the foundation of the OWL Intelligence Platform. Each record captures a specific type of information, and records can be linked together to build a complete picture of an investigation, incident, or intelligence effort.
Rather than storing all information in a single record, OWL uses related record types that each serve a distinct purpose. This makes information easier to organize, search, report on, and reuse across multiple investigations.
Cases
A Case is the primary container for an investigation or operational effort. It brings together the people, information, documents, searches, and activities associated with a specific incident or objective. The Case Dossier provides a centralized view of all records linked to the case.
See also: Cases Overview
Subjects
A Subject represents a person, organization, vehicle, location, device, or other entity of investigative interest. A single Subject can be associated with multiple Cases, allowing investigators to identify relationships and avoid creating duplicate records.
See also: Subjects Overview
Data Queries
A Data Query stores the details and results of searches performed against connected data sources. Queries may be linked to Cases or Subjects to preserve the investigative context and provide a record of how information was obtained.
See also: Data Query Logs
Forms
A Form captures structured information using administrator-defined templates. Forms help standardize data collection for interviews, reports, inspections, incident documentation, and other organizational processes.
See also: Forms
Tips & Leads
A Tip records information received from internal or external sources that may contribute to an investigation. Tips can exist independently or be linked to Cases and Subjects as they become relevant.
See also: Tips & Leads
Evidence
An Evidence record represents physical or digital evidence that supports an investigation. Evidence records provide the investigative context for evidentiary items and can be linked to Cases, Subjects, and other related records. Supporting files—such as photographs, videos, documents, or other digital artifacts—are managed through OWLdocs, where they are governed with auditing, retention, and chain-of-custody controls
See also: Evidence, OWLdocs Overview
Reports
A Report documents findings, summaries, or conclusions generated during an investigation. Reports typically bring together information from multiple related records into a single narrative or deliverable.
See also: Reports
How Records Work Together
Although records can exist independently, they are most valuable when linked together. A typical investigation may include:
- One Case containing multiple Subjects.
- Queries performed to gather information about those Subjects.
- Forms used to capture structured investigative details.
- Evidence records documenting physical or digital evidence, with supporting files managed in OWLdocs.
- Tips that generate new investigative leads.
- Information Sharing records documenting collaboration with other users or organizations.
- Reports summarizing the investigation and its outcomes.
Together, these linked records create a complete, searchable, and auditable investigative history.
Recommended Record Structure
To keep information organized and reusable, consider these general practices:
- Create a Case for each investigation, incident, or operational effort.
- Create Subjects as reusable entities rather than duplicating them across Cases.
- Attach supporting records (such as Queries, Forms, Evidence, Tips, and Reports) to the most appropriate parent record to preserve context.
- Reuse existing records whenever appropriate to maintain continuity and reveal relationships across investigations.
- Link related records instead of duplicating information whenever possible.
This relationship-based approach helps maintain data quality, improves collaboration, and enables OWL's search, analytics, visualization, and reporting capabilities to identify meaningful connections across investigations.