September 26, 2007 ... Tackling justice in the EU.

Because governments across the EU are granted a monopoly by way of democracy with regard to the criminal justice system and associated legislation, it is imperative that its inefficiencies be reduced so that the tax burden is limited and justice is better served. As Sir Ronnie Flanagan has rightly pointed out in his interim report on policing (*.pdf), better use must be made of technology to improve the criminal justice system. and the police’s ability to function effectively. Bearing in mind that the vast majority of technology endeavours embarked upon by government rarely achieve a fraction of their claims and cost tens of billions of wasted Euros, any technology initiative must be pursued by way of the established private sector.

I his interim report Sir Ronnie Flanagan emphasised the possibility of technology being more effectively applied to the courts and defendants without jeopardising habeas corpus, and the lowering of administration and costs. To that end, the introduction of Hewlett Packard’s TelePresence Halo technology, which has been well tried and tested with international business, would be a worthwhile acquisiton across the EU.

The EU aspect is now altogether relevant due to criminal activity being allied to immigration--as it must be irrespective of nationality-- from eastern Europe, and which also has to account for the international nature of contemporary terrorism. Unlike simply having to deal with domestic United Kingdom,law and its variations in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the courts and police must now also deal with the geographical expanse of the EU, its myriad of languages and legal requirements. Thus, if an Estonian is accused of crime in London but returns to Estonia or some other EU locale, the time and expense to achieve extradition, assemble all the necessary persons: translators, legal council, witnesses, etc., including necessary paraphernalia in London, can lead to any outcome in favour of the criminal justice system including the victims of crime, unnecessarily expensive and difficult to pursue.

However, given a proliferation of Halo rooms across the EU, all the necessary persons and paraphernalia can be assembled as if they were all in the same room without anyone having to be extradited or transported across great distances, and without incurring the security overhead that such would entail.

Furthermore, witness protection for those unwilling to testify in open court for fear of gang reprisals would be more likely to testify, and the security associated with dangerous criminals and terrorists would be vastly reduced.

The key to this working is not to even think of attempting to develop such technology, but to lease it under contract from a reputable technology vendor. In this case, Hewlett Packard, until competition on the market offers credible alternatives.