Government calls on tech companies to join crime-cutting campaign

The government has called on technology companies to help it to solve challenges in the justice system. In a meeting on 8 May, the justice secretary met with 30 technology companies, including Google, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to explore how new technologies can help keep the country’s streets safer.

This includes the potential to track offender movement more efficiently, using data to help probation officers undertake more accurate risk assessments. The meeting also looked at whether digital platforms can help offenders rehabilitate and integrate back into society better, thereby reducing reoffending.

Justice secretary and lord chancellor Shabana Mahmood said the current government has inherited “a justice system in crisis, with prisons close to collapse and staff overburdened and under pressure”, adding: “We need bold ideas to address the challenges that we face – supporting our staff, delivering swifter justice for victims and cutting crime.

“Today, we have an analogue justice system in a digital age. The UK has a world-leading and growing tech sector, and I know our tech firms have a huge role to play in delivering our Plan for Change to make streets safer.”

The meeting was facilitated by trade body TechUK, with the meeting aiming to lay the groundwork for an event open to the whole of industry to apply to and present their ideas and solutions to government in the coming months.

Commenting on the meeting, president of the Law Society of England and Wales Richard Atkinson said that if technology can play a part in tackling the current prison crisis, it should be explored, but he warned that it “must be done without compromising quality or public safety as part of a wider programme of investment in capacity and efficiency”.

“Transparency about the technology used will be crucial in ensuring public confidence. Technology itself is not a silver bullet to addressing issues in our system, but it can facilitate and enable justice when used responsibly and ethically,” he said.

Earlier this year, the justice secretary set out her plan to transform the probation service, which included £8m towards new technology, such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI). In her speech at the time, she said that tools such as voice transcription would allow probation officer to “focus on building relationships, while also removing the need for them to enter handwritten notes into a computer afterwards”.

“In time, we believe that AI could play a more active role in supporting staff to supervise offenders – for example, drawing on the data we have on an offender to suggest a supervision plan tailored to them,” she said.

Microsoft’s UK public sector general manager, Amanda Sleigh, said the company is excited to be part of the initiative launched by the government.

“Microsoft is committed to advancing the ethical use of AI technology to reduce the administrative burden on prison and probation staff, allowing them more time to focus on delivering high-quality frontline services, reducing recidivism and helping integrate offenders back into society,” she said.

Other companies attending the event include technology and service company Allied Universal; Cognizant Worldwide, which focuses on transforming experiences through modernising technology; and TPXimpact, aiming to create positive change through digital transformation.