Not so long ago, Britain’s courts ran on paper files, an assortment of various IT systems, and manual processes to consolidate various police and probation services reports, evidence, CPS forms, and court records. Today, many of these processes are digitised and seamlessly integrated.
This is thanks to Common Platform, a next generation tool that brings all criminal courts in England and Wales together onto one cloud-based system.
From Paper to Digital - The Common Platform
Developed in collaboration with Scrumconnect under HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) reform programme, Common Platform is at the heart of this major transformation in the UK’s criminal justice system. It replaces fragmented, decades-old legacy systems with a new unified digital case management service that fundamentally improves the way cases are handled from suspect to court disposal.
By centralising information and processes, streamlining workflows, reducing paperwork, and enabling real-time collaboration across the whole justice system, it means that all colleagues, from Police, Probation, the Legal Aid Agency, defence solicitors, CPS and court staff, can access and update case information on the same system.
Scale and Impact
What makes Common Platform powerful isn’t just its design, but its scale. The result is a step change in efficiency, transparency, and accessibility for the entire justice process. The platform has handled over 1.8 million cases and 2.3 million hearings since it was fully rolled out in 2023, demonstrating the massive scale of this digital reform. It is a strong testament to the UK’s leadership in justice innovation.
The Next Step
In our view, the next step is to fully realise the potential of Common Platform. Because consistent digital workflows and joined-up data operates across the system, AI innovation is no longer theoretical, or even fragmented.
The platform captures structured case data at national scale, providing a clean, consistent base from which AI models can be developed and tested. And because the system is already operational, interoperable, governed and supported in a live production environment, it provides a safe place to experiment without disrupting frontline services.
With all this in mind, Common Platform could enable the next round of digitisation in the criminal justice sector. Tools that support, rather than replace, human judgment could begin to emerge.
For example:
- AI could assist decision-makers by analysing past case patterns and surfacing comparable cases to support more consistent outcomes.
- Forecasting models could help HMCTS predict case volumes, backlogs or resource bottlenecks, and act earlier to address them.
- Routine tasks like document generation or case triage could be handled by AI systems that reduce workload while maintaining quality and traceability.
- Anomaly detection could spot stalled cases or unusual outcome patterns, helping improve oversight and flag potential bias or error.
Building on a Strong Foundation
None of this is about hype or quick fixes. It’s about building on a strong foundation. Common Platform has digitised the processes, stabilised the system and developed institutional capacity to handle tech change. AI can be introduced carefully, under governance models already shaped by the reform programme, and aligned tightly to evolving legislation and regulatory parameters.
Ethical and legal safeguards will matter. Any AI system must be transparent, auditable and subject to human override. If designed well, AI can help enhance access to justice, reduce admin burdens, and support more consistent and timely outcomes. And it can be done without compromising public trust. Crucially, every action taken in Common Platform already leaves a digital trace, enabling full auditability and supporting the integrity of any AI-enabled processes.
UK Leading the Way
Other countries are also exploring AI in justice, but through the advances of Common Platform, the UK has a head start. By focusing first on getting the basics right, Common Platform has created the conditions for AI to be deployed safely and at scale.
Its biggest legacy could well be this: Common Platform isn’t just about modernising how justice is delivered now. After all, an innovation that stays still quickly becomes stagnant. Instead it provides the data, connectivity and confidence Britain needs to innovate and lead globally.
The Next Step in Transformation
Put simply, AI need not be a radical punt, or even a big bang programme of work. Instead, because of Common Platform, the door can be opened to faster prototyping and refinement of AI use cases, grounded in real operational data. It’s a powerful tool to support the next step in an ambitious digital transformation journey that is already well underway.
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Hannah Butterworth, Lead Delivery Manager, Scrumconnect
Hannah was recently appointed Lead Delivery Manager at Scrumconnect. Prior to this she has nearly two decades of experience from HM Courts & Tribunals Service, where she played an integral role in driving and delivering innovation across the criminal justice sector.
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