As organisers of the Modernising Criminal Justice Conference we are always speaking with experts within the field. In this piece we speak to some of our speakers to find out their thoughts on how data and technology can transform the justice sector.
Technology is a large part of the solution and we have had the pleasure of working with organisations who have a real heart for social value, like Sopra Steria, who strive to integrate person-centred design into their solutions. This isn’t only about seeing and hearing those who interact with the justice sector but understanding the needs of service users, families, and criminal justice practitioners so that meaningful digital solutions can be imagined and achieved.
The use of automation and augmentation with data and technology must be a priority. The more demand can be taken away from the officers and CJ partners, the more time they will have to focus on the quality of the investigation or process. Data quality within Policing is poor and therefore we are unable to fully understand the totality of demand or risk and therefore the more streamlined, convergence of systems and processes and use of intelligent data, the better-quality outcomes will be for the victims.
I feel that the solution to these digital investigations and use of technology is not only technological, but structural and cultural also. UK Policing and CJ partners need to be ‘ smarter customer’ and work closely with technology companies to plan for future requirements- being proactive rather than reactive. This combined with developing the workforce / developing culture is key as we need to foster an investigative mindset for digital investigations - some aspects will need specialists, but digital investigations should be business as usual and part of a proportionate investigation. So in summary, we need to deal with the here and now challenges but also have one eye on the future.
“Always plan ahead – It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.” USA newspaper ad 1924