Communications 'explosion' hampering disclosure

Gross also stated, 'it can fairly be said that technology has created many of our current disclosure problems' and continued to give a further example saying, 

 

"The Metropolitan police explained that in one complicated rape case, involving multiple complainants, it took 630 hours for the police disclosure team to review the content of the three complainants' mobile phones and their Facebook accounts." He also added 'That figure does not include the time taken to actually download the phones at the lab, or the time taken to collate, review and schedule the products of the various reviews.'

 

In another rape case it took 150 officer hours to examine 20,000 items of data where the complainant and defendent met on dating app Tinder – despite there being only two mobile phones to consider.

 

CBA chair, Angela Rafferty said, 'For too long prosecutors have tolerated the intolerable too. Without the commitment and skill of those who prosecute the system would collapse quickly. Disclosure is still a huge issue. We make a commitment to you now to mirror our efforts on AGFS [legal aid remuneration] towards prosecution work.'

 

"However, Gross predicted that artificial intelligence will ultimately go a long way to solving problems provided there is 'trust and confidence in the process'. New technology that will help includes advanced search methods, using technology to sort/list/group material, automatic rejection of poorly completed schedules, signposting to help the prosecution make the right decisions and computers learning from feedback to make accurate decisions."

 

Gross added that the 'rates, packages and structuring of remuneration' for solicitors and barristers cannot be ignored in any discussion.

 

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