Technology is increasingly becoming an essential resource across criminal justice, from surveillance systems and facial recognition to digital forensics and wearable technology.
The pandemic prompted a profound technological shift and accelerated longer-term tech initiatives. Digitisation of the criminal justice system is well underway however technology could be used to better support collaboration and improve joined up services between police, courts, prisons, and probation services in the UK.
The barriers preventing technological integration, and collaboration were discussed in-depth at the 2024 Modernising Criminal Justice Conference. Annette So, Director at the Criminal Justice Alliance told the audience she didn’t think there was “a shared vision for why the system needs to be digitalised and modernised,” adding that many stakeholders will have different views. “The Treasury, for example, would have a completely different view from the third sector… I think, without this joined-up strategy and vision, that poses one of the biggest barriers.” So also stressed the need for a change of mindset in terms of why the sector needs to be digitalised.
Joining So on the panel was Richard Miller, Head of the Justice Team at the Law Society of England and Wales. Miller highlighted some success stories but reiterated the need for greater input from all areas of the sector. “I do think there are some good examples of collaboration across the sector. There are initiatives such as Better Case Management and Transforming Summary Justice, which does aim to bring the relevant parties together. But I do think it’s still very much a case of individual projects where that is done rather than an overarching holistic view of how the system should operate. I also think one of the other barriers is government very often likes to get its own ducks in a row before it will talk to anyone outside of government. That’s understandable, but the effect of that within criminal justice is that you get HMCTS, the judiciary, the police and the Home Office talking about issues that need input from the defence as well - and they get a long way down the discussion before they actually start talking to the defence. I think recognising that you need to be talking to all partners from an early stage would be a major step forward in getting that holistic approach to the system.”
This is an excerpt from the Tech-Savvy Collaboration: Key Insights from the GovNet Justice Survey Report. Download the free report below.