The Causeway Programme is a joint undertaking by the criminal justice organisations in Northern Ireland. It aims to improve the administration of criminal justice through the development of new ways of working and better information systems.

As a criminal case progresses, the same information is often used by different criminal justice organisations (CJOs). Similarly, information needs to be passed from one CJO to another in order to move a case along. This information was traditionally shared between the CJOs in the form of paper files and documents that had to be moved from building to building. Some of the CJOs had computer systems that supported their work, but information entered onto one of these systems had to be re-entered into all the others as there was no mechanism for transferring information electronically. The use of paper-based records has many disadvantages. For instance it is often difficult to know where a file is and whether the papers in it are up to date. These problems can cause delay and mistakes, which undermine the public's confidence in the criminal justice system.

Causeway is addressing these issues by replacing paper-based records with systems based on the electronic storage, transfer and retrieval of information. Information is captured once and then shared and re-used by all CJOs. Information will always be up to date, will be easily accessible to those who need to use it, will move quickly between organisations and will be consistent.

The benefits of Causeway will not be confined to the CJOs themselves, but will be felt by victims, witnesses, judges and magistrates and even defendants.

This web site explains Causeway's objectives, how we will meet them, why this work is necessary, how we are organised and how to contact its staff. If you are interested in similar projects, which seek to integrate criminal justice information systems, visit our links page.

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