Face-to-face in court

SIR – Dominic Raab’s article (Comment, August 4) on how new technology (such as the use of video links) in court can deliver better public services is thought-provoking. However, there is a significant difference between using technology to increase efficiency and using it to increase effectiveness. The latter requires greater insight into what the justice system is for and for whom.

Magistrates are very clear that the “users” of their courts tend, much more than the population as a whole, to suffer from difficulties with learning, communication and mental health that restrict their ability to engage with us and the face-to-face system as it is now. But we are not confident that the difference between efficiency and effectiveness is yet properly appreciated by those making the most fundamental changes to the courts system in a century.

We urge the Ministry of Justice to remember that the courtroom is imbued with the broad scope of human emotion and experiences. Technology must not replace that. Instead it should facilitate an easier passage for all involved, including those victims and witnesses who want to face the defendant. It should not be assumed that everyone wants to be in a video suite miles away. Malcolm Richardson JP

Chairman, Magistrates Association London SW8