Making a Prime case for video

Prime Business Solutions has become the latest Innovator of the Month after designing an economical and convenient video-conferencing system for the Royal Courts of Justice.

The latest CRN/Syscap Approved Technology Innovator of the Month award has been won by Prime Business Solutions for a video-conferencing system it designed for the Royal Courts of Justice.

The facility has been used on a number of high-profile occasions, including the 'right to die' case of Diane Pretty, in which the judge's interviews with Pretty at her hospital bedside were shown on video screens in court.

It seems likely that the system will also be used in civil cases related to Nick Leeson. The facilities will allow evidence to be presented from Singapore and heard in London.

When Dave Reynolds, accommodation officer at the Royal Courts in London, saw the Courtroom of the Future project and understood how technology was being used in other parts of the world, he realised that his own court could make much better use of the systems that were available.

"We were looking at how IT could be used in court, and specifically at video-conferencing systems. We wanted a solution that was much more flexible; not something that you just wheeled into the courtroom, but a detached suite that would allow everyone to see the evidence," he said.

Reynolds had seen video-conferencing in action, and he and his colleagues became convinced that this was the way forward.

"With 20 prisoners a day travelling to the Royal Courts from all over England, often for a 15-minute hearing, a video link can make a huge saving in terms of time and money. And post-11 September many overseas witnesses prefer to communicate via video, instead of flying," he explained.

The Royal Courts carefully assessed potential providers. Prime was selected and its solution has exceeded expectations.

The system has become popular with everyone from clerks to judges, who are not normally the greatest advocates of new technology. The system's convenience and flexibility won them over.

One judge who presides over Wales and Chester had written a judgement and needed to present it to 60 of his colleagues. Rather than travel to Cardiff he walked one block within the Royal Courts and delivered it over the video-conferencing link.

The process took him 30 minutes instead of two days. "There are huge savings for the client and Legal Aid fund because you can do in 10 minutes what previously took hours. Barristers and clerks are thrilled," Reynolds said.

Centred around a VS4000 video codec from Polycom, the conferencing system has been completed bespoke for the Royal Court by Prime.

Using a set of technologies from specialist developer Creston, Prime designed a system that allows easy switching between different cameras and audio feeds and also allows documents to be displayed.

It had to be designed with many particular requirements in mind; the acoustics of the courtroom were particularly difficult to deal with, for example.

The court's support staff needed the ability to control who speaks when, so that they would be able to follow the instructions of the judge.

They also needed to be able to use different camera angles and connect to a variety of systems. Often, more than two sites have to be linked up visually or with a mix of video and audio.

Nathan Marke, marketing director at Prime, said: "We listened to them; that was the important thing. People want business justification and return on investment, and that brings in the whole customer experience much more. We listened to what they wanted and had sessions with user groups."

Lisa Little, marketing manager at Syscap, the technology financing and leasing company that sponsors the awards, described the Prime solution as an example of how technology can be used to deliver practical solutions that benefit everyone.

"This shows technology deployment at its best," she said. "A courtroom may seem like an obvious place for the use of video-conferencing, but it is also a very traditional environment and one in which any solution would have to be sensitive to the special needs involved.

"Prime has delivered an excellent and elegant solution and is a worthy winner."

The Royal Courts plans to extend the use of the system and may invest further in the future, according to Reynolds.

The development of a secure IP system by the London Court Service could lead to further use of the Prime system to stream video feeds to other locations.