 Delivery of effective and efficient justice is not just about having a well thought-out policy and a sound legislative framework. Of course they are essential but there are many more components to a workable, user-friendly and fair justice system that are often overlooked. Just as the courts provide the infrastructure to administer justice, so information technology provides the means to implement it successfully.
Five years ago, investment in court IT in the then Lord Chancellor’s Department was around £1,200 per head. At the time, independent surveys put the Whitehall average at around £3,400 and in customer-focused service industries, the figure was more than £10,000. This year shows the dramatic turnaround in our position. The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) now spends more than £6,000 per head. This shows the importance we attach to IT in transforming the way we deliver our courts services.
Until recently, remand prisoners had to appear in court for pre-trial hearings. With high-risk prisoners who required a police escort, this was costly. In addition, hearings were often delayed because of the need to travel to and from court, and there is always a security risk when transporting prisoners.
Today, prisoners can now ‘appear’ in court via video link. This reduces hearing delays, improves security, and saves money within the criminal justice system. Moreover, fewer prisoner movements require less prison staff time, the risk of absconding is reduced, and less judicial time is wasted waiting for remand prisoners to arrive at court. Not only are hearings more effective but the public has more confidence in the system as a result.
Video links, which are in all magistrates’ courts in England and Wales and 30 Crown Courts, have been integral to some high-profile cases recently. For instance, Maxine Carr ‘appeared’ at Peterborough magistrates’ court, sitting as a Crown Court, in August 2002 for her preliminary hearing after being charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. From Holloway Prison, Carr was able to see and hear the court and be seen and heard by it. As this case was so sensitive and attracted enormous media attention, there was a significant public order issue and the video link was vital to serving the interests of justice.
Video links have an even broader application. Evidence can be electronically displayed on screens in an increasing number of courts; previously, jurors relied on paper copies. The technology is also used for witnesses to give evidence from a location outside the courtroom, including abroad. It was used by the Hutton Inquiry last year when a witness gave evidence from a Sydney hotel room.
This time last year, witnesses, including police, regularly spent all day waiting at court before being called to give evidence. Today, Xhibit – a system that enables the exchange of case information – can notify witnesses by e-mail or text about when they are required. The most obvious benefit is that police can continue working right up until they are needed in court. It is a much better use of their time.
Xhibit seeks to improve Crown Court customer service, efficiency and effectiveness through the sophisticated use of IT. It is currently being piloted in Snaresbrook Crown Court, where it is demonstrating the benefits to be gained across the criminal justice system through the electronic sharing of hearing-related information. National roll-out is expected to follow in the new year.
The system can request pre-sentence reports automatically, reducing delays, whereas previously, when an accused person was convicted, the Crown wrote formally to request a pre-sentence report. Xhibit can also update the Police National Computer automatically when someone is sentenced, rather than this valuable resource not being updated until the court notified police of the outcome.
Like witnesses, jurors can spend a lot of time hanging around. But wireless hotspots in nine locations across England and Wales allow jurors to use wireless-enabled laptops to send and receive e-mails and browse the Internet while waiting at court. This service, provided in partnership with BT Openzone, can also be used by lawyers to do legal research at court.
Until recently, correspondence between solicitors and the court was by ‘snail mail’, even for filing key documents like witness statements. Now, ‘Secure Email’ allows secure electronic exchange of data between criminal justice partners. The Law Society firmly supports the use of secure e-mail and encourages its criminal court practitioner members to register (see www.cjit.gov.uk).
Arguably the world’s most famous criminal court, the Central Criminal Court, broke new ground last year by having what is believed to be the largest video conferencing network in Europe installed. All 18 courtrooms at the Old Bailey are equipped with the latest technology for the benefit of witnesses, jurors, judges, advocates, court staff, the media and prisoners.
The technology was installed as part of a £4.4 million refurbishment which makes the Old Bailey more secure, accessible and user friendly as well as saving time and money.
A broad range of people use the courts – some daily, but for others it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Each user has different, but important, demands and expectations which need to be met. For instance, vulnerable witnesses must feel safe, comfortable and secure when they give evidence. Reporters must have access to publicly available information as they are the conduit to the wider community, and fewer prisoner movements means prison staff are free to do other things.
In the magistrates’ courts, deployment of the new Libra application, a national standard case management system, is expected to begin in November. Currently going through development and testing, the Libra application will replace the various systems used by magistrates’ court committees for events such as scheduling hearings, with a modern, sophisticated and user-friendly piece of software. New laptops will be delivered to judges, and more on-line services introduced.
The CJS Exchange will be introduced in 2006. It will help support a joined-up CJS in England and Wales by linking criminal case management systems and allowing authorised criminal justice professionals to share relevant case file information. Services will be available securely through participating organisations’ systems or networks and the Internet. CJS Exchange services are being field tested before the technology is made available to all.
So much for the criminal jurisdiction; on the civil and family side it is worth mentioning Money Claim Online, our ground-breaking on-line claims service – www.moneyclaim.gov.uk. It was launched in February 2002 and allows people to make claims up to £100,000 each against no more than two defendants at a time.
There have been approximately 85,000 claims since Money Claim Online was launched, 43,000 e-mail queries, and 80% of claimants are either on-off users or make no more than two claims. In January 2003, the system expanded to allow defendants to any claim issued by the County Court Bulk Centre to respond to the court using the same secure Web site. Since the launch, more than 19,000 defendants have responded on-line and this now means that 20% of responses are now received electronically. The introduction of further on-line services is planned for 2005 for possession claims and filing of a range of forms.
These examples, numerous as they are, are the tip of the iceberg and provide a mere snapshot of how IT is transforming the way court services are delivered. This is an exciting and challenging time. New tools require new ways of working and, while the DCA has undoubtedly established itself as a leader across Whitehall, we must not forget that the motivation for change has been, and always will be, to better serve those at the heart of the system – court users.
Professor Sir Ronald de Witt is chief executive of the Unified Courts Agency
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