Opinion: Magistrates’ Court stuck in the 1990s when it comes to techology
Sentences aren’t the only thing out of sync at Victoria’s courts, as the Herald Sun found out when it was handed a CD recording of a Magistrates’ Court proceeding for accused pedophile Joshua Brown. Technology should help, not hinder, transparency.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the state’s courts not keeping up with the times.
The discussion has until now revolved around the fact that bail decisions and sentences for violent recidivist youths are not matching up with the community’s current expectations.
Enter Jacinta Allan’s tough new laws to try to bring them into line.
But this is not the only way the justice system is falling behind.
When it comes to technology, some of the court’s processes are still stuck in the 1990s.
My colleagues and I at the Herald Sun have been closely following the case of accused childcare pedophile Joshua Brown.
So when a gag order was sought but then later revoked, I requested the audio of the proceedings to figure out what had been suppressed.
For a fee of $55, I was told it would take four to six weeks for the Magistrates’ Court to provide me with the recording.
And I was told it would not be available via a download or a USB stick but – wait for it – a CD.
So I patiently waited until an email landed in my inbox after almost a seven-week wait.
On Monday, when it finally came time to collect the disc, I dusted off my old Sanyo CD player, carried it onto the train and lugged it into my office, only to learn that the CD could only be played via a computer with a disc drive.
Without one to be found in our newsroom, it was my mum who saved the day with her desktop computer that was old enough to read the CD. You’re the best, mum.
After listening to the audio, the Herald Sun was able to reveal that a sex crime detective had been given the green light to question Mr Brown in a marathon 10-hour interview at Melbourne West police station.
But this is all true to form for the court which, as my colleague Shannon Deery revealed earlier this year, was four years behind on delivering a new IT system and was $40m over budget.
Technology should enable transparency.
Let’s hope they press play on some changes soon.
