“Criminal cases will be handled digitally from the moment a crime is committed until its conclusion in court,” Criminal Justice Minister Damian Green said earlier this month.

In a press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on April 11, Green went on to say, “I want to see a criminal justice system where information is captured once by a police officer who responds to a crime and then flows through. of the system for the court stage without duplication or rework “.

The press release lists the main features of the new digital business model of the criminal justice system.

• Using mobile devices, police officers will be able to record evidence at crime scenes, record statements while events are fresh in the mind of a witness or victim, and begin building a case file immediately, without the delay of have to go back to the station.
• The system will link the different parts of the criminal justice system: the police, the HM Courts and the Courts Service and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Information stored in one place centrally, but available from any location, through any device, will eliminate the need to send multiple copies of documents to different agencies.
• Police will be able to contact CPS directly about impeachment decisions, and CPS will automatically have access to all related documentation.
• Written evidence and legal presentations used in magistrates’ courts in England and Wales will be digital: “they will be centrally stored in a secure way and will be accessible to magistrates and legal teams on digital devices.”
• And in court too, prosecutors and defense attorneys will work digitally, eliminating the need for those “paper file packages.”

Outlining these features, the press release highlights the benefits that a document management and workflow solution brings to any business process.

• Once captured, documents are stored securely and centrally, but can be accessed instantly 24/7 from any location, availability is assigned according to business rules in all departments , agencies and third parties.
• The need to create multiple copies is eliminated along with duplicate input requirements for systems integration.
• The processing limitations and disadvantages associated with handling paper ‘bundles’ are gone: a physical document can only be in one place at a time, can be misplaced or lost, in addition to stationery and storage costs.
• The workflow routes the document through the business process, built-in business rules to ensure compliance with controls and authorization rules, and monitoring and escalation functions are designed to ensure that deadlines and business goals are met. KPI.
• Business intelligence (BI) reports and comprehensive audit trails mean that control is improved and visibility is maintained throughout the process.

The intention is for all criminal courts to be able to operate completely digitally by July 2016, with the aim of “improving the day-to-day work of the police, prosecutors, defense defenders and judicial personnel” and “helping women victims and witnesses guaranteeing that the cases advance as they advance. as quickly as possible “, that is to say, so that the system is more agile and efficient.

When I tweeted a link to this press release, I had no idea that two days later I would be personally experiencing digital surveillance after a home break-in attempt.

The police officer who attended did indeed record the details digitally. I gave my statement in absolutely ‘fresh’ details and then digitally signed. The incident was instantly logged into the system and I immediately had a crime number to call my insurance company. Later, when forensics arrived to take fingerprints, they had all the information they needed at their fingertips.