Text a defendant scheme wins national award

A project which sends a text message to defendants to remind them about upcoming court dates has won a national award.

The pilot scheme was started by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire several years ago to save police and courts time and money.

Around a fifth of first appearance court cases were delayed as the accused had failed to show up in court on their first hearing date. The execution of additional arrest warrants added to police costs and used up officers’ time while they searched for and arrested the defendant, held them in custody and then arranged for them to attend court.

A key ambition outlined in the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan is to increase efficiency in the Criminal Justice system by looking for investment in new technologies and opportunities.

Defendants are either charged or bailed for a first court appearance and are sent a notification letter by post. Those without a fixed address or other lifestyle challenges often fail to see the letter, leading to them missing the court appearance date.

The project changed the system so an additional text message was sent to the defendant the day before the court case as a reminder, which led to a significant improvement in the number keeping the appointment.

The text the defendant process has now been adopted as standard practice in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire using a free government system. It is managed by the Constabulary’s Administration of Justice team based at Hatfield.

Now the scheme has just won the Effective Court Hearings award at the National Police Chiefs Council conference in Birmingham.

David Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, said: “This is a great example of how a simple change is saving thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money every month and leading to swifter justice for victims.

“By working together with partners it has improved outcomes for the police, the courts, victims and defendants by helping to ensure cases are dealt with as quickly as possible. It also has the benefit of freeing up officer time which can be better spent out on the frontline.”

Ian Butler, Head of Administration of Justice, said: “The text the defendant is a great service, working much a like a doctor or dentist appointment reminder would. We were delighted to be recognised for this award, but the real winners are the victims of crime who get an improved service, and the public services in both courts and police as this system addresses a lot of additional demand which occurs when arrest warrants are issued.