Accenture to support digital justice program of Canary Islands

LAS PALMAS, SPAIN: Accenture has been selected by the regional government of the Canary Islands to provide management consulting and technology services to the regional Department of Justice to help modernize its judicial information system.

The project will enhance court operations and support the delivery of justice in the region by upgrading and integrating the island's judicial information system (Atlante II) with the systems used by Spain's Ministry of Justice and Spain's national and regional police forces.

Accenture will help automate the delivery of approximately 6,500 court notifications per day to users of the system to enable greater information sharing and to reduce delays and costs associated with case processing. The system has more than 4,200 users who include judges, magistrates, prosecutors, coroners and civil servants.

The project also will provide the regional Department of Justice with performance management insights, converting system data into useable information to help maximize resources, reduce costs and plan for future service demands. Improved workflow processes will allow court employees to manage increased numbers of case files, enabling the faster processing of cases while reducing delays and lowering administrative costs.

The project will enable greater integration of Atlante II with LexNet, the information management system used by Spain's Ministry of Justice, as well as systems used by Spain's national and regional police forces. Other agencies, including the Spanish Ministry of Justice, State General Prosecutors Office and the National Judicial Depository Center, also will have access to the system, enabling increased information sharing between police and judiciary.

Atlante II was recently awarded a JUSTIC2013 award by Spain's Ministry of Justice in recognition of the high level of interoperability the system has achieved to date as well as its continued role in improving the quality of justice delivery in Spain.

"We are committed to taking all necessary steps to deliver a modern, efficient and effective justice system across the Canary Islands," said Pedro Herrera Puentes, justice vice minister at the regional Government of the Canary Islands. "Our goal is to minimize the red tape and to ensure that citizens understand their case progress while reducing delays in the administration of justice."

Carlos Coll, managing director, Accenture Health and Public Service, said, "The Department of Justice is taking steps to ensure that court operations are timely, efficient and cost effective. By having a strategic vision and deploying new digital technologies and management processes, the government can reduce time delays and achieve increased information sharing between policing and justice stakeholders."

Manuel Sanchez-Lopez, managing director of Accenture Police Services, added, "Policing and justice organizations across the world face unprecedented challenges as they tackle crime and increased workloads while seeking to reduce operating costs and better manage information and human resources. Enhanced data integration and information sharing, supported by carefully structured business processes, will not only deliver financial savings but also enhance the delivery of justice in the Canary Islands."