Digital Courts - transformation of the courts system for the future

Courts are a very historic and traditional part of an amazing overall justice system. To be able to keep things moving through this system effectively, the ability to leverage existing IT and new technology advancements is essential to improve the end to end court process and bring benefits including faster decisions and therefore less impact on citizens and families  for better rehabilitation, and a reduction in unnecessary court dates and backlogs and ultimately reoffending.

The ability to do things such as use evidence in court which doesn’t need to be physically brought there with the reduction in all the associated cost and resource that goes with that, protect vulnerable witnesses and streamline court appearances with video technology, plus provide jurors with tablets cataloging case evidence and information, is what really feeds into the Digital Courts of today and the first steps we’ve seen to the transformation of the courts system of tomorrow.

Working closely with various parts of the justice system I’ve seen some great examples of using new technology to apply efficiencies. Traditionally a stenographer would need to be present in any court for transcription of all proceedings. Stenography is still the most widely used form of transcription, however Digital Courts are now able to utilise ‘virtual stenographers’ today which securely stores and optimises court audio recordings, making them available in real-time to authorised staff and administrators and accessed quickly and easily thereafter.

Since 2016, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have been introducing new technology to modernise the justice process. The approach has been phased, with initial improvements to infrastructure and basic services followed by a wider range of online and ‘enabling’ services, to replace paper-based or antiquated systems. To deliver the latest phase of technology reforms, HMCTS needed to connect their legacy infrastructure to a new cloud environment, to support the deployment of virtual desktops. As a cloud-built solution, virtual desktops bring HMCTS the flexibility to adapt working practices on-demand, something that not only improves operational efficiency in general, but will prove crucial in a post-COVID working world. HMCTS have been able to move, or in some cases eliminate, costly IT processes, reducing the amount of taxpayer money spent on maintaining these old systems. When the time is right, remaining back end functions can also be migrated to cloud if required, ultimately delivering on the promises made in the HMCTS reform programme, to completely modernise the administration of justice.

The key to being able to confidently embrace new technology now and in the future is to have a secure foundation for transformation. Courts are naturally dealing with very sensitive data. By introducing new technology, there’s a potential to increase the attack surface for cyber criminals to exploit. Video links must be secure and the use of the internet may not be the right solution with no SLA on performance. Unauthorised system access, mass data loss and complexity of IT networking are just a few of the risks that can come with this new approach and must be mitigated against.

New security measures must be taken and security policies and practices must be updated to conform with this new digital model and to prevent attacks from happening. With a secure connectivity foundation in place courts and the wider justice system can focus on building citizen facing applications for improvements and efficiencies, that can be deployed in a fraction of the time, with secure links to legacy systems, and leveraging visibility of the entire ecosystem to boost security, efficiency and value for the citizens that rely on them.

Georgina Henley

Head of Justice and Emergency Services, techUK

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Georgina Henley

Head of Justice and Emergency Services, techUK

Georgie joined techUK as the Justice and Emergency Services Programme Manager in March 2020.

Georgie is dedicated to representing suppliers by creating a voice for those who are selling into blue lights and the justice system, but also by helping them in navigating this market. Georgie is committed to creating a platform for collaboration, from engaging with industry and stakeholders to understand the latest innovations, to the role tech can play in responding to a range of issues our justice and emergency services are facing 

Prior to joining techUK, Georgie managed a Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) in Westminster. She worked closely with the Metropolitan Police and London borough councils to prevent and reduce the impact of crime on the business community. Her work ranged from the impact of low-level street crime and anti-social behaviour on the borough, to critical incidents and violent crime.

Email:

[email protected]

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgie-henley/

Georgina Maratheftis

Associate Director, Local Public Services, techUK

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Georgina Maratheftis

Associate Director, Local Public Services, techUK

Georgina is techUK’s Associate Director for Local Public Services

Georgina works with suppliers that are active or looking to break into the market as well as with local public services to create the conditions for meaningful transformation. techUK regularly bring together local public services and supplier community to horizon scan and explore how the technologies of today and tomorrow can help solve some of the most pressing problems our communities face and improve outcomes for our people and places.

Prior to techUK, Georgina worked for a public policy events company where she managed the policy briefing division and was responsible for generating new ideas for events that would add value to the public sector. Georgina worked across a number of portfolios from education, criminal justice, and health but had a particular interest in public sector transformation and technology. Georgina also led on developing relationships across central and local government.

If you’d like to learn more about techUK, or want to get involved, get in touch.

Email:

[email protected]

Phone:

020 7331 2029

Twitter:

@GeorginaMarath

Website:

www.techuk.org/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgina-maratheftis-0a002a102/

Raya Tsolova

Programme Manager, National Security, techUK

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Raya Tsolova

Programme Manager, National Security, techUK

Raya Tsolova is the Programme Manager for National Security at techUK. 

Raya is responsible for all National Security related activities across techUK, specifically in the established programmes of Defence, Cyber Security and Justice & Emergency Services. Raya will leverage relationships with existing stakeholders across the three programmes, and will build new relationships between techUK and key stakeholders who are of interest to member companies. 

Prior to joining techUK, Raya worked in Business Development for an expert network firm within the institutional investment space. Before this Raya spent a year in industry working for a tech start-up in London as part of their Growth team which included the formation and development of a 'Let's Talk Tech' podcast and involvement in London Tech Week. 

Raya has a degree in Politics and International Relations (Bsc Hons) from the University of Bath where she focused primarily on national security and counter-terrorism policies, centreing research on female-led terrorism and specific approaches to justice there. 

Outside of work, Raya's interests include baking, spin classes and true-crime Netflix shows! 

Email:

[email protected]

Phone:

07712630603