The £20m system, being rolled out across England and Wales, can update individual court users on the progress of a case via criminal justice agencies; these messages are sent either by text, email, or pager. The public can also track court hearings online using the Internet or via public display screens in the court building.
"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."
XHIBIT provides case information to magistrates' courts, Witness Service, Victim Support, the police, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the Crown Prosecution Service. The Police National Computer can be updated much faster and orders made by the court can be processed more quickly from this information.
David Weston, Sussex Area Director for Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS), said: "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."
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."
XHIBIT 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.
XHIBIT (eXchanging Hearing Information By Internet Technology) is now being introduced into 101 Crown Court sites across England and Wales, following a pilot in 2004.
Forty per cent of those attending court would be unwilling to be witnesses again. The key reasons were wasted time in court precincts, repeated adjournments and a lack of information. Only 54 per cent of witnesses gave evidence on the day called and 17 per cent waited more than 4 hours.
Quelle: Publictechnology, 06.02.2006
