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Last updated: 27 March 2009
A more vigilant, secure and safer United Kingdom is critically dependent upon a modern, joined–up approach to information across the whole system.
By focussing on the customer rather than the process, access to justice and public confidence can be improved. In the Courts, for instance, the use of video reduces the trauma for witnesses of facing an attacker or the intimidating courtroom environment.Witness video link equipment has been upgraded in criminal courtrooms around the country.
The Ministry of Justice [External Website] is also using customer journey mapping to improve the experience of jurors, victims and witnesses. New research for the Met Police (Source: Royal Holloway, Prof E Stank) shows that helping people discuss crime and feeling that they have access to police officers, such as through Safer Neighbourhood Panels, can reduce their fear of crime.
The 2007 customer survey carried out by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) [External Website] revealed that 80% of customers would like to apply for CRB checks electronically. In 2009, the CRB will introduce its first electronic application service, in the first instance to large volume customers who will be able to submit multiple applications electronically. A service for single applications submitted online will follow. The CRB already offers an online tracking service allowing customers to track the progress of both individual and multiple applications from receipt to issue. This has been well received by over 90% of customers who no longer need to make a phone call to check on progress. Work will also continue with the Identity and Passport Service in looking at the potential benefits of using the Identity Card as part of the CRB application process
In 2006–07, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) [External Website] has continued to strengthen the prosecution process, championing justice and the rights of victims, and inspiring the confidence of the communities the organisation serves. They have successfully prosecuted a total of 1,091,250 cases, with 842,022 defendants convicted in magistrates’ courts and 71,738 in the Crown Courts [External website].
CPS Direct [External website] has more than 130 prosecutors working from home offices outside normal working hours providing an advice service to the police.
Protecting the public and detecting crime is dependent upon modern information systems that are changing how the police service and border control operates and how the public interacts with the police. Many of the projects below are led by the new National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) [External website].
Improving the security of our borders
New electronic border control systems have generated over 14,000 alerts to border agencies and have resulted in over 1,100 arrests. The Joint Border Operations Centre runs an e–Borders system to match information in travel documents with data from the Borders and Immigration Agency, HM Revenue and Customs, the police, the Identity and Passport Service and UKvisas.
The system, managed by the Trusted Borders consortium since November 2007, is still in its early stages, but already the Joint Border Operation Centre has processed the equivalent of 30 million annualised airline passenger records on 122 routes and 77 carriers. The number of annualised passenger numbers is expected to grow substantially through 2008.
Building a better justice system by sharing information
Justice – a new approach sets out a better justice system though radical improvements in penal policy, re–offending, public protection, punishment fitting the crime, the system’s links to communities, victims' trust in the system and public confidence.
Better sharing of information across the Criminal Justice System is fundamental to achieving these improvements. Major investments have been made in improvements to Criminal Justice System technology that has largely delivered a modern IT infrastructure, as well as many of the case management systems on which to build a more joined–up service. For the first time this is allowing rapid, secure information sharing between CJS organisations.
The first stage in this programme was providing the CJS with a modern, secure email system which, at the click of a mouse, replaces paper processes that could take days or even weeks. Criminal Justice Secure eMail is now serving 15,000 users and processing over 500,000 secure messages each month.
Forming the second stage of the programme is the Exchange, one of the key components of joining up justice. The Exchange is a information sharing platform that enables CJS organisations to access, share and exchange information electronically and securely via the Web.
Today, the Exchange is delivering two types of core business services to enable information sharing across the CJS:
CJS Exchange XHIBIT (eXchanging Hearing Information By Internet Technology) Portal – enables victims, witness groups and CJS professionals to have access to Crown Court hearing information and results. This substantially reduces potential confusion in courts for those who are not regular court users and helps access to justice. Currently, over 460,000 documents are delivered to prisons, probation, the Police and the CPS via the CJS Exchange XHIBIT Portal per month.
Virtual court is a new initiative aimed at shortening the time from charge to first hearing, reducing paperwork and travel costs. The Virtual Court allows documents to be shared between the Police, CPS and Courts. First hearings can be held using a live video link between the Police station and the court room. Following a successful proof of concept an extensive pilot is planned in London during during 2008.
PROGRESS portal is a new, intuitive tool which supports case progression for the courts, CPS and local defence firms and is now live across Manchester and Essex, with national deployment planned during 2008.
Key partners record their compliance with court directions online, providing greater assurance that trials will proceed as scheduled. This results in better use of court time, provides greater certainty for victims and witnesses, and will contribute to increasing public confidence in the CJS.
CPS case management systems continue to be enhanced. The CPS Case Management System supports staff in 700 sites CJS and has been enhanced to support the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) and confiscation cases. The Witness Management System has also been enhanced, now meeting the Victims’ Code, Disability and Discrimination Act and including new features for witness care officers.
Bichard 7 will take all court results entered on to the court systems and, once they are validated, automatically update the Police National Computer (PNC). This will replace the existing manual and semi-automated processes and establishes a single and consistent way of updating the PNC.
However, there is still much work to do. During 2006–2007 there were too many occasions where data is either inaccurate or not joined up between systems. This can undermine public confidence in the system. An integrated approach to the use of information is vital across the Home Office [External website] group, the Criminal Justice System as a whole and linking to wider government as part of a wider information strategy.
The rehabilitation and care needs of young offenders are hard to meet if the right information isn't present. Youth Justice Boards, an electronic sentence management system (e–Asset), brings together risk assessment information about the young person, facilitating end–to–end case management for the first time. The Wiring Up Youth Justice programme is rolling out e–Asset to all secure establishments between 2007 and 2009.
C–NOMIS, the National Offender Management Information System, will create for the first time a national database for the management of offenders and has been successfully implemented in three prisons. The next stage of the programme is currently under review, the outcome of which was being finalised as this Report was being compiled.
April 2007 saw the creation of the National Policing Improvement Agency. Formed from the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), the Police Training Organisation (CENTREX) and the National Centre for Policing Excellence (NCPE), its mission is to support policing to improve and deliver better services to the public.
The NPIA is responsible for delivering services such as the Airwave Digital Radio Service, the DNA Database, IDENT1 National Fingerprint Identification, the Police National Computer, Lantern mobile fingerprinting, the IMPACT Nominal Index and an improvement portfolio of programmes.