Transforming community protection in the digital area

Community protection services across all levels of government form a sizeable part of total government spending each year. In fact, according to the latest government data, during the 2014–15 financial year, over $15 billion was spent on the justice system in Australia, including policing services across state and federal governments.

With community protection costing billions of dollars each year, it is critical that governments have the necessary systems and digital tools in place to ensure operational efficiency and optimal service delivery for citizens.

While digital transformation is largely being led by the private sector, many public-sector agencies, including law enforcement, are increasingly benefitting from new software and technologies that expand their capabilities and optimise processes. However, barriers to further digital progress across law enforcement remain.

The ever-increasing volume of big data that needs to be captured, integrated, processed, and analysed from a multitude of sources will create challenges, due to the persistence of legacy systems, budgetary constraints, competing priorities, and the increasing demand for digital solutions that support customer-centric processes.

Additionally, public perception regarding digital service delivery by governments continues to be somewhat negative. According to recent research by the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), only a small proportion of Australians strongly believe that the Commonwealth (16%), state (14%) and local governments (12%) are effectively using technology to deliver optimal services to their customers. The same research suggested that almost three quarters of Australians believe the main benefit realised as a result of the government’s use of technology is the perceived improvement in service quality and accuracy.

Regardless, technology has already transformed the processes of justice and regulatory departments. Payment of fines for instance can be made online through state justice departments. The Department of Justice and Regulation (State of Victoria) is a great example of a government organisation leveraging digital solutions to improve service delivery, customer-centricity and community protection support.

The Department recently employed my business to deliver a fines and enforcements management system that will be integrated with a number of agencies across the State. Civica’s VIEW system will help streamline relevant operations within the Department and provide a variety of regulatory, local government, and private enterprises with improved access to an online agency portal for lodgement of fines enforcement. Additionally, the system will integrate with a public portal enabling citizen self-service, with a consolidated view of fines and easier online payment options.

Essentially, our digital solution will assist in optimising end-to-end enforcements management, enabling the Department to more efficiently process fines imposed by external agencies, including the courts, law enforcement authorities, local city councils and a variety of other regulatory bodies.

The time and effort initially involved in undertaking large and rather complex digital transformation projects, such as this one, is well worth it given the resultant improvements to operational practices and  processes, the availability of a consolidated view of individual debtors, more effective enforcement leading to improved fines-based revenue, as well as staff and customer satisfaction.

Civica is currently leading discussions with local and regional governments across Australia to help drive this transformational change and facilitate the evolution and optimisation of fines and enforcement management.