Let me say at the outset, I am not a luddite. My firm is quite happy to work in a paperless environment and we have for many years been asking the Crown Prosecution Service why we cannot receive evidence by electronic means. In fact, our first request mentioned floppy disks!

However, I must comment on the statement of David Jones, director of the CPS’s efficiency programme, that all criminal defence firms need to do is join the secure email system (CJSM) (see [2011] Gazette, 8 December, 1). Those unfamiliar with CJSM may imagine some type of snappy, intuitive, email interface similar to other online email providers, such as Gmail or Yahoo! Mail.

If only that were so.

The truth of the matter is that the CJSM system software is several years past its ‘sell-by’ date and I do not believe it is now fit for purpose. Problems start as soon as you access the site. There is a notice on the log-in page telling you that users of Internet Explorer 8 or 9 (easily the most commonly used software for internet access) may experience problems. They will. CJSM does not work with IE8 or 9 without switching to ‘compatability mode’. It does not work very well with Google Chrome.

The warning of this problem has been there for over six months, but no improvements to the interface have been made as I write.

I could go on at length about the slowness of the secure email system, the poor search system, the needlessly complicated way of assigning an email addressee from one’s contacts, and even the way in which contacts are displayed. There are other problems too. My main concern, though, is the lack of memory. We are a small firm in a small market town.

We use the system to email the police for bail-back information, and we send all correspondence to the Crown court and CPS via the system. The vast majority have been simple emails with no attachments. In the first six weeks of using the system, we had used 25% of the available memory. The emails cannot be forwarded to another email system and thus we are left with no choice but to print off the email and then delete it. So much for a paperless office.

Once we start receiving electronic files, I anticipate we will run out of memory within three months. Larger firms will be experiencing difficulties within weeks. We actually welcome this new way of working in the criminal justice system, but for it to be a success, the CJSM system needs a major overhaul and upgrade before the Transforming Through Technology project kicks in from April. It is my understanding this is unlikely to happen.

John Storer, Criminal Defence Associates, Boston, Lincs