69 percent citizens in seven countries say the increased use of digital technologies could improve the justice system in their countries, said a survey by Accenture.
87 percent of respondents — from Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States — who have interacted with the justice system say they have not experienced any benefits from these technologies as they were not available to them during their interaction.
They believe new digital technologies have the potential to both reduce the processing times of court cases (63 percent) and reduce administrative costs (62 percent).
82 percent of citizens would be willing to interact with their justice agency using digital technologies either instead of, or in addition to, face-to-face contact. Those willing to interact with their justice system via digital technology were receptive to using video conferencing technology (67 percent), email (62 percent) and online citizen information portals (59 percent).
Of the respondents who had previously interacted with their justice system, 61 percent was satisfied with their overall experience. 74 percent believe the speed and efficiency of the courts could be improved and 61 percent say they want improved communication of case progress and increased clarity on court processes.
U.S. Findings
56 percent of U.S. respondents have had personal interaction with a justice agency, the highest percentage of respondents in any of the countries represented in the survey.
70 percent who have had interacted with the justice system were satisfied with their experience. This was the second highest satisfaction rate among citizens in the seven countries studied.
More than half of those surveyed in the United States believe digital technology has the potential to speed up case outcomes (53 percent), reduce administrative costs (56 percent) and make the U.S. justice system more convenient (57 percent).
However, the majority of U.S. respondents who have interacted with the justice system to date (85 percent) say they have not experienced any benefits from digital technologies during those interactions.
A majority of U.S. citizens who say they are willing to interact with the justice system via digital technology are willing to do so using video conferencing technologies (66 percent) email (59 percent) and online citizen information portals (57 percent).
Country Comparisons
The majority of U.K. citizens (75 percent) who have interacted with their justice agency were satisfied with the service they received, which was the highest satisfaction rate across all markets studied. This contrasts with Italy, where less than half (35 percent) of Italian respondents say they were satisfied with the service they received.
Respondents from Italy were most confident that digital technologies have the potential to reduce case processing times (75 percent) and public costs (69 percent). This contrasts with the U.K., where only half (50 percent) of respondents believe new technologies can reduce case processing times and reduce personal costs for the individuals involved.
Of those willing to interact with the justice system via digital technology, more than three-fourths of respondents from Spain (78 percent) would be willing to do so using video-conferencing. This contrasts with just over half of respondents from France (55 percent) and Germany (55 percent).