New court technology brings trial process up to speed

The XHIBIT criminal justice IT system has rolled out to Hull, Great Grimsby, Hove and Chichester Crown courts, and Lewes Crown and county court, as part of the planned national completion of the programme by the end of March.

XHIBIT – eXchanging Hearing Information By Internet Technology – is designed to update individual court users including police officers on the progress of a case via criminal justice agencies, with messages sent either by text, email, or pager.

The £20m system being rolled out across England and Wales is the first system to run on the new LINK infrastructure introduced by Her Majesty’s Court Service in 2002, to provide court staff and the Judiciary in criminal and combined courts with modern 21st Century technology.

As well as keeping police officers informed, XHIBIT will update the Police National Computer much faster, so that orders made by the court can be processed more quickly. XHIBIT also provides case information to magistrates’ courts, the Witness Service, Victim Support, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the Crown Prosecution Service, and the public can track court hearings online using the internet or via public display screens in the court building.

Constitutional Affairs Minister Harriet Harman said: “Attending court can be stressful at the best of times. With XHIBIT, witnesses can now be more in touch with their case using the latest technology.

“There will be local benefits too, as police officers will spend less time waiting at court to give evidence and more time policing the streets. This technology is part of the Government’s drive to take the court system into the 21st Century. It all adds up to a better deal for victims and witnesses in the court process.”

Chief Supt Peter Coll, Head of Sussex Police Criminal Justice Department, said: “Sussex Police has worked closely with HM Courts Service and CJIT to take full advantage of the new XHIBIT system. We very much welcome the opportunity to improve the service to victims & witnesses at court. XHIBIT has already improved communication and information exchange between the Courts and Sussex Police.”

David Weston, Sussex Area Director for Her Majesty’s Courts Service (HMCS), added: “The new system can provide criminal justice agencies in Sussex with faster court information to all interested parties using Internet technology. It will eventually make the delivery of justice more transparent and more efficient.”