It is research, but not as we know it. After months of bugging HMCTS to publish their user research on the digital court reform programme, a summary of findings was released to me as a result of a freedom of information request. It is an intriguing document which begs as many questions as it answers. The findings seem to be about remand hearings where the defendant is in police custody and their first appearance is from a police custody suite into the local magistrates court via video link. I observed a day of such hearings when I went to Chatham Magistrates’ Court and was pretty alarmed.
The research appears to be preparing the ground for the piloting of fully virtual remand hearings where none of the participants will be in the court-room and all will be on separate video screens or ipads in offices or at the police station. This pilot was scheduled for March this year but has not got off the ground. On the basis of this research we seem to be a long way off. And as a sceptic of the programme as a whole, I’m afraid this document has not allayed my concerns.
- The researchers themselves recognise that there are huge gaps in knowledge. Despite doing userresearch, they did not talk to any defendants or witnesses about their experience. Given that at least a third of defendants appearing from the police station are unrepresented, their voice is essential. The research also doesn’t probe any views on the effect of appearing on video on justice – either on effective participation or on justice outcomes. Research by Transform Justice and by the Ministry of Justice suggests that those appearing on video get harsher sentences and are more likely to be refused bail. We need to get data and views on this before extending video remand hearings.
