The Common Platform provides access to relevant case
information for all parties involved in criminal cases,
including the judiciary, solicitors and barristers, the
Crown Prosecution Service and court staff.
Early adopter courts across England and Wales will test the
system before the subsequent rollout to all criminal courts
over 12 months. This will begin in Derby and then roll out
incrementally to the others in the series.
- Derby Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court
- Croydon Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court
- Guildford Magistrates’ Court/Staines Magistrates’ Court
and Guildford Crown Court
- Northumbria Centralised Unit which includes: North
Tyneside, Mid and South-East Northumberland, Newcastle,
Berwick Magistrates’ Courts and Newcastle Crown Court
- Warrington Magistrates’ Court and Chester Crown Court
- Bristol Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court
- Llanelli Magistrates’ Court and Swansea Crown Court
Benefits for the early adopter courts
The system will make all information about a case, such as
charges, evidence and results, accessible digitally to all
parties. Access to different kinds of information is
securely controlled to make sure that each participant only
sees the material that is appropriate to them.
The Common Platform cuts down the need for manual document
handling and reduces the amount of paper documents
produced. It also removes the need to copy information from
one digital platform to another at different stages in a
case, improving the way criminal cases are accessed,
managed and processed. It will eventually replace the
existing software applications: Libra, XHIBIT, Bench, Court
Store and Digital Mark-Up with a single, streamlined
system.
Amanda Lowndes, Midlands Head of Crime, commented:
We are pleased to have been chosen as the first of the
early adopter courts to test the Common Platform digital
product: it shows the confidence placed in us that we can
successfully rise to the challenge in these uncertain
times. I’d like to thank everyone involved for their hard
work and the commitment they have shown to supporting the
testing of this new digital platform.
I’m confident that by providing all the criminal case
information in one place, and in a digital format, the
Common Platform will help us support all organisations in
the criminal justice system.
It will help us to work more effectively together, reduce
delays and make evidence sharing easier. We’re very keen
to work with our judges and others to test this digital
product in our court.
The delivery of training and support to court staff, the
judiciary and criminal justice partners in the first of
these locations is already underway.
Once the early adopter phase is complete, the system will
then be gradually expanded to all criminal courts in
England and Wales.
