Justice

Trust in institutions, including our courts and justice system, is declining. It’s well-documented that people—especially young people—from multicultural communities are overrepresented in the justice system. Aboriginal people are the most incarcerated people on the planet, whose “children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates.”

The justice system is complex and difficult to navigate, and often happens in stressful and challenging moments for people. It can be unequal, with men twice as likely to receive legal aid as women,1 and multicultural communities experiencing greater challenges in accessing and navigating the system.

Smart, accessible services can help prepare people better for these moments, and make it easy for them to safely access the help they need.

In Australia, “infrastructures have evolved in a piecemeal way to create a complicated justice data ecosystem”.2 Legacy technology systems add to the challenge of sharing information, across both restricted and open access—and new platforms and cloud-based solutions offer efficiency, but not always equity.

Using data and technology to innovate the justice system will improve the experience of citizens and legal workers, and help ensure that the legal system is operating in an accountable, predictive and accessible way.

Early intervention is the best approach for reducing rates of crime, incarceration, and recidivism. In many states and territories, including Victoria, there is a growing focus on working with communities to tackle the underlying factors that lead to crime.