AI in the Crown Court

In early June the Government announced a swathe of new technological pilots to be trialled in Crown Courts around the country. It is hoped that these new innovations will be able to cut down waiting times for both victims and defendants and deliver justice faster. 

These projects come at a time of intense scrutiny of criminal justice waiting times and the length of time victims and suspects must wait to have their day in Court. 

The AI tools being piloted include AI assistants to help with the listing of cases. These assistants will be able to identify cases that are trial ready to resolve them sooner and give them priority listings. 

The projects being pushed out coincide with a new system unveiled in the Crown Courts for listing cases. This national guidance will ensure that cases are listed in a uniform manner nationwide, reducing uncertainty for all individuals involved with the Criminal Justice System. 

Additionally, once the systems have been rigorously tested, every probation officer in the country will be provided with an AI tool which will automatically record and transcribe every conversation they have with the individuals they manage. This will hopefully reduce the administrative load on these officers. It is estimated that this tool alone will cut more than 18,000 days of administrative time every year. 

A similar tool is currently being trialled in Immigration and Asylum tribunals, allowing Judges to transcribe their case notes, again alleviating administrative pressures. 

These reforms highlight the growing use of AI across the legal sector. The Crime Team at Stone King is at the forefront of this use. If any of the topics within this article have raised questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.