Forming a collaborative approach to digitising justice

Last month we were a reception sponsor for the Justice and Emergency Services reception, in London at techUK.

The event was an opportunity for people working across the board in the justice and blue light sectors to come together to network in person. It also served as a launch for a report from techUK that we were a contributing author to: Digitising Justice, putting data at the centre. 

We heard from guest speakers, Martin Hewitt Chair of the National Police Chief’s council and Gina Gill, CDIO, Ministry of Justice on the complexities of the landscape they operate in and the innovation and change that’s being driven to improve services for users.

TechUK lists 25 recommendations on how technology can improve outcomes including:

• The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Police should work with techUK to break down barriers to building public trust in the adoption of emerging technologies across the criminal justice (CJ) landscape. 

• The idea of a victim being required to ‘tell their story once’ without having to repeat it to a number of agencies needs to be carefully considered when designing data systems, collecting and analysing data. 

• With a drive to reduce reoffending, considerations should be made relating to digital skills passports for prisoners and prison leavers where data on that individual can be stored and is easily accessible for support agencies - from health and employment to education. 

• The industry at large must ensure that the technology implemented meets the needs of diverse groups of people and separate cohorts of prisoners. 

We were part of the group looking at healthcare access in the report. The prison population is one of the most vulnerable in society, yet clinicians have no specific training on their specific needs. A joined up approach to data sharing between agencies must exist to ensure access to care and support is seamless.  

It is a complex challenge for all involved to bring about change that is meaningful. This report is a great example of collaboration across many different types of organisations with one goal in mind, to improve outcomes for all of society. 

We are already part of some of the changes which are enabling technology to support rehabilitation and care. Projects we are involved in include supporting in-cell technology, for learning and healthcare access, through our partnership with HMCTS .