*/
Inés Rivera explains how speech technology is transforming policing, courts and prisons
Digitally transforming the justice system from policing right through to prisons and rehabilitation is no easy feat, but it is underway. The government reaffirmed its plans to “modernise the delivery of criminal justice and encourage greater use of technology” in the 2021 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill – and there have already been some promising improvements.
For the police, new tools such as centralised reporting systems are lessening its enormous documentation burden, freeing up more time and resources to commit to frontline community support. For the courts, digital systems such as the Common Platform are streamlining case management to help lawyers, judges, and court staff work through a record-breaking backlog of over 450,000 criminal cases faster. And for the Prison and Probation Service, improving digital literacy is helping lower reoffending rates, and supporting better post-sentence lives for its inmates.
But for the justice system to see the full benefits of digital transformation, it’s vital to tackle the core processes that slow down productivity and hamper progress.
At every stage of the justice system, professionals are facing lengthy, manual admin processes that add hours of typing to already busy schedules. For example, there are over 100 forms that are regularly used in line with Criminal Procedure Rules. Police officers spend hours of their shift writing up incident reports and creating case files. And complicated paper forms mean prisoners often struggle to access vital education programmes and opportunities to connect with their families.
There’s no single solution that can overcome all the procedural roadblocks that slow down the justice system – but speech recognition will make a significant difference.
As the justice system digitises, legal professionals are increasingly finding themselves spending hours typing every day. For instance, a recent Nuance survey found that 80% of lawyers spend more than four hours a day typing for work.
The average typing speed is around 40 words per minute. The average speaking speed? More than three times faster at 130 words per minute.
Speech recognition lets legal professionals use voice commands to complete documentation, correspondence, digital forms, and other admin tasks quickly and easily.
To take advantage of this technology, legal professionals need a tool that can meet the high demands of the justice system. We recently launched Dragon Legal Anywhere, a solution that’s built specifically for the legal industry. Underpinned by our latest speech recognition engine, Dragon is helping professionals throughout the UK’s justice system work with more speed and efficiency.
Sitting on top of the tools and applications police, lawyers, court staff, and prison officers use every day, Dragon provides fully encrypted speech-to-text for seamless dictation and navigation. It’s up to 99% accurate out of the box, and uses AI and machine learning to dynamically adapt to users’ preferences over time.
Flexible, customisable, and based in the cloud, Dragon Legal Anywhere is ideal for professionals throughout the justice system – whether they’re dictating incident notes into report management systems or navigating the Common Platform.
Reserve your spot in our upcoming webinar to join the conversation around efficiency, productivity, and transformation in the UK’s legal sector. We’ll be discussing how professionals from lawyers to prison officers can use tools such as Dragon to work through backlogs faster, spend more time working directly with clients, and reduce stress and burnout in their roles. Register at: nuance2.tsc.events/registration
Nuance Communications is a world leader in conversational AI innovations that brings intelligence to everyday work and life. Nuance delivers solutions that understand, analyse, and respond to people – amplifying human intelligence to increase productivity and security. With decades of domain and AI expertise, Nuance works with thousands of organisations globally across legal, health care and financial services, education, telecommunications, public services, and retail – to create stronger relationships and better experiences for their customers and workforce.
Inés Rivera is responsible for product and marketing at Nuance. With a legal background and over 10 years focusing on digital marketing strategy to increase growth through integrated omni-channel programmes, Ines has managed teams across national and international businesses. Prior to joining Nuance, Ines worked in the introduction and development of new products and software across different verticals.
Digitally transforming the justice system from policing right through to prisons and rehabilitation is no easy feat, but it is underway. The government reaffirmed its plans to “modernise the delivery of criminal justice and encourage greater use of technology” in the 2021 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill – and there have already been some promising improvements.
For the police, new tools such as centralised reporting systems are lessening its enormous documentation burden, freeing up more time and resources to commit to frontline community support. For the courts, digital systems such as the Common Platform are streamlining case management to help lawyers, judges, and court staff work through a record-breaking backlog of over 450,000 criminal cases faster. And for the Prison and Probation Service, improving digital literacy is helping lower reoffending rates, and supporting better post-sentence lives for its inmates.
But for the justice system to see the full benefits of digital transformation, it’s vital to tackle the core processes that slow down productivity and hamper progress.
At every stage of the justice system, professionals are facing lengthy, manual admin processes that add hours of typing to already busy schedules. For example, there are over 100 forms that are regularly used in line with Criminal Procedure Rules. Police officers spend hours of their shift writing up incident reports and creating case files. And complicated paper forms mean prisoners often struggle to access vital education programmes and opportunities to connect with their families.
There’s no single solution that can overcome all the procedural roadblocks that slow down the justice system – but speech recognition will make a significant difference.
As the justice system digitises, legal professionals are increasingly finding themselves spending hours typing every day. For instance, a recent Nuance survey found that 80% of lawyers spend more than four hours a day typing for work.
The average typing speed is around 40 words per minute. The average speaking speed? More than three times faster at 130 words per minute.
Speech recognition lets legal professionals use voice commands to complete documentation, correspondence, digital forms, and other admin tasks quickly and easily.
To take advantage of this technology, legal professionals need a tool that can meet the high demands of the justice system. We recently launched Dragon Legal Anywhere, a solution that’s built specifically for the legal industry. Underpinned by our latest speech recognition engine, Dragon is helping professionals throughout the UK’s justice system work with more speed and efficiency.
Sitting on top of the tools and applications police, lawyers, court staff, and prison officers use every day, Dragon provides fully encrypted speech-to-text for seamless dictation and navigation. It’s up to 99% accurate out of the box, and uses AI and machine learning to dynamically adapt to users’ preferences over time.
Flexible, customisable, and based in the cloud, Dragon Legal Anywhere is ideal for professionals throughout the justice system – whether they’re dictating incident notes into report management systems or navigating the Common Platform.
Reserve your spot in our upcoming webinar to join the conversation around efficiency, productivity, and transformation in the UK’s legal sector. We’ll be discussing how professionals from lawyers to prison officers can use tools such as Dragon to work through backlogs faster, spend more time working directly with clients, and reduce stress and burnout in their roles. Register at: nuance2.tsc.events/registration
Nuance Communications is a world leader in conversational AI innovations that brings intelligence to everyday work and life. Nuance delivers solutions that understand, analyse, and respond to people – amplifying human intelligence to increase productivity and security. With decades of domain and AI expertise, Nuance works with thousands of organisations globally across legal, health care and financial services, education, telecommunications, public services, and retail – to create stronger relationships and better experiences for their customers and workforce.
Inés Rivera explains how speech technology is transforming policing, courts and prisons
Chair of the Bar reflects on 2025
Q&A with criminal barrister Nick Murphy, who moved to New Park Court Chambers on the North Eastern Circuit in search of a better work-life balance
Revolt Cycling in Holborn, London’s first sustainable fitness studio, invites barristers to join the revolution – turning pedal power into clean energy
Rachel Davenport, Co-founder and Director at AlphaBiolabs, reflects on how the company’s Giving Back ethos continues to make a difference to communities across the UK
By Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
AlphaBiolabs has made a £500 donation to Sean’s Place, a men’s mental health charity based in Sefton, as part of its ongoing Giving Back initiative
Professor Dominic Regan and Seán Jones KC present their best buys for this holiday season
Little has changed since Burns v Burns . Cohabiting couples deserve better than to be left on the blasted heath with the existing witch’s brew for another four decades, argues Christopher Stirling
Six months of court observation at the Old Bailey: APPEAL’s Dr Nisha Waller and Tehreem Sultan report their findings on prosecution practices under joint enterprise
Despite its prevalence, autism spectrum disorder remains poorly understood in the criminal justice system. Does Alex Henry’s joint enterprise conviction expose the need to audit prisons? asks Dr Felicity Gerry KC
With automation now deeply embedded in the Department for Work Pensions, Alexander McColl and Alexa Thompson review what we know, what we don’t and avenues for legal challenge
