The “Digital Post Office”: delivering a connected justice journey
Guest blog by Kevin Hoskins, Managing Director at Q-Solution Ltd #digitaljusticeimpactday2026
Kevin Hoskins
Managing Director, Q Solution
As we mark techUK’s #digitaljusticeimpactday2026, the spotlight within the justice community is firmly fixed on modernisation. When we discuss the "justice journey," we often focus on the visible milestones: the moment of arrest, the appearance in a magistrate's court, or the final verdict. However, for stakeholders across the sector, the true challenge lies in the invisible gaps between these milestones—the points where information must pass from one agency to another without losing momentum, integrity, or clarity.
To deliver on the priorities of the Justice Delivery Plan, we must prioritise the "digital plumbing" that connects our disparate organisations, making the Criminal Justice System (CJS) more accessible and responsive. At the heart of this connection is the Criminal Justice Secure Exchange (CJSE). Often described as the "digital post office" of the justice community, the CJSE is a vital, cloud-native engine supporting the efficiency and unified delivery of our legal system.
The Infrastructure of interoperability
The CJS is a vast ecosystem of independent entities, including 43 police forces across England and Wales, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), and the Home Office to name just a few. These organisations typically operate within siloed Case and Record Management Systems. The CJSE sits at the centre of this web, enabling these systems to exchange criminal case information seamlessly and supporting the strategic goal of a joined-up justice system.
The scale of this interoperability is immense:
The CJSE handles over 60 million "digital letters" annually.
These are complex digital case files containing witness statements, defendant details, images and structured forms like the MG5 and MG10.
By acting as a secure exchange, the CJSE ensures data reaches its destination with integrity, non-repudiation, and full audibility.
Crucially, the CJSE is supporting the rollout of Digital Case Files (DCF). This programme drives the exchange of structured, accurate digital information, reducing reliance on legacy forms and increasing frontline efficiency by removing the need to re-key data—a major source of error and delay.
Leveraging AWS and microservices for systemic agility
The CJSE’s modern technical foundation is a strategic advantage for the Justice Delivery Plan’s focus on agility. Since December 2021, the service has been provided as a SaaS by Q-Solution, built on a serverless architecture within AWS.
This microservices-based design allows for a level of responsiveness previously difficult in government tech. While monolithic systems are slow to change, this architecture can be adapted in near real-time to meet shifting legislative or operational requirements. When the Metropolitan Police transitioned from their legacy COPA system to CONNECT. The CJSE was asked to support parallel running of the two systems. The architecture enabled changes to be implemented within just a week. This ensures that technological transitions do not disrupt the flow of justice, maintaining public trust.
Furthermore, the serverless nature of the system provides the operational resilience required for critical national infrastructure. With message persistence and replay capabilities, the exchange can recover from network or local system failures without losing a single byte of case information.
Transforming data into actionable insights
Currently, over 5TB of structured digital case information traverses the CJSE annually. This represents a unique opportunity to use data as a strategic asset. The CJSE is a system where the entire journey of a case—from initial arrest to final result—is captured within a single landscape.
By leveraging the data flowing, we could directly address key "pain points" identified in the Justice Delivery Plan:
Alleviating Court Backlogs: By utilising real-time Management Information (MI) reporting, stakeholders could identify exactly where bottlenecks occur in the "arrest-to-verdict" pipeline. If specific case types are delayed at the prosecution stage, resources could be reallocated dynamically to maintain throughput. Data quality issues could be identified de-risking failed court hearings
Predictive Analytics: Sending anonymised, structured data to advanced platforms helps predict court capacity needs and identifies patterns in technology-enabled offences, allowing for proactive rather than reactive legal strategies
Streamlined Prosecution: The use of APIs could facilitate tighter integration between stakeholders, speeding up the judicial process and improving the experience for victims and witnesses.
A future-proof justice journey
As we look toward the future, our focus remains on making the system more responsive to the needs of all involved—from victims and defendants to the professionals who keep the wheels of justice turning.
The CJSE proves that by investing in robust "digital plumbing," we do more than move data; we provide the foundation for a more efficient, transparent, and fair legal system. Those 60 million annual messages represent 60 million opportunities to ensure justice is delivered accurately and on time. By continuing to evolve our use of microservices and data analytics, we can move to a system that is truly informed by data, delivering better value for the taxpayer and better outcomes for society.
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The techUK Justice and Emergency Services Programme represents tech firms operating in the public safety, criminal justice, and blue light markets. We create strong relationships between members and public sector customers, encouraging industry engagement, and unlocking innovation. Visit the programme page here.
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Head of Programme - Justice and Emergency Services and Economic Crime Lead, techUK
Dave Evans
Head of Programme - Justice and Emergency Services and Economic Crime Lead, techUK
Dave is a former senior police officer with the City of London Police, bringing extensive experience as a Detective and senior leader across frontline operations and multi-agency partnerships at regional and national levels.
He has led and supported responses to major national incidents, including mass casualty events, counter-terrorism operations and large-scale public disorder, working closely with partners across the criminal justice sector.
Alongside his public service, Dave has also held leadership roles in the private sector, managing projects focused on intellectual property and licensing. His combined experience across both sectors gives him a deep understanding of how collaboration between service providers and end users can strengthen resilience and trust.
Cinzia joined techUK in August 2023 as the Justice and Emergency Services (JES) Programme Manager.
The JES programme represents suppliers, championing their interests in the blue light and criminal justice markets, whether they are established entities or newcomers seeking to establish their presence.
Prior to joining techUK, Cinzia worked in the third and public sectors, managing projects related to international trade and social inclusion.
Junior Programme Manager - Justice and Emergency Services, techUK
Fran Richiusa
Junior Programme Manager - Justice and Emergency Services, techUK
Fran is the Junior Programme Manager for the Justice and Emergency Services (JES) Programme.
In this role she supports project delivery, stakeholder engagement, and policy development across portfolios including law enforcement, justice, and the fire sector.
Fran joined techUK in May 2025 as a Programme Team Assistant for the Public Sector Markets Programmes before progressing to her current role.
Prior to joining techUK, she gained experience working across local government and VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) charities, where she developed a deep understanding of public service and advocacy.
