Modernising Criminal Justice 2026: From AI Adoption to Operational Opportunity

There are some events where you come away having had a few interesting conversations. Then there are events where you leave feeling that an entire sector is grappling with many of the same questions.

Modernising Criminal Justice 2026 was certainly the latter.

Throughout the day, the exhibition space was busy with justice organisations, technology suppliers and partners discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. From conversations on the Unilink stand to discussions between sessions, one thing became increasingly clear: artificial intelligence has moved beyond being a future consideration. The focus is now on how we adopt it responsibly and apply it to solve real operational problems.

I had the privilege of presenting our session, AI in Criminal Justice: From Adoption to Operational Opportunity, alongside Unilink’s Innovation and Technical Director David Purkess. I'll admit that I was nervous beforehand. Speaking in front of senior representatives from organisations including HMPPS, the Ministry of Justice, Department of Justice, HMI Prisons, the Crown Prosecution Service, police forces, prison governors and justice partners naturally comes with a degree of pressure. At the same time, it's a subject I'm incredibly passionate about, which quickly took over once the session began.

I opened by sharing Unilink's own AI implementation journey.

From the outset, we deliberately avoided treating AI as a technology project. Instead, our focus has always been on people.

Our ambition has been simple: make AI available to everyone, across every business area, and encourage people to see it as part of how they work every day rather than as another standalone tool.

That has meant spending time understanding individuals, listening to concerns, recognising that confidence levels vary considerably, and working with teams to identify where AI can genuinely improve processes and remove unnecessary effort. Building AI literacy wasn't simply about teaching people how to use a tool. It was about helping them understand where AI could support their own role, whilst creating a culture where experimentation and learning were encouraged.

One of the strongest messages I wanted to leave with the audience was that successful AI implementation is fundamentally a people challenge before it is a technology challenge. When people feel confident, supported and trusted to explore AI safely, the conversation naturally evolves from "What is AI?" to "How could this improve the way we work?"

I then shared how this shift has transformed our own software development lifecycle. AI now supports activities throughout planning, development and testing, allowing our development teams to focus more of their time on solving complex problems, exercising judgement and delivering value. It isn't replacing expertise; it's amplifying it.

That evolution also creates opportunities for our customers. By increasing our own capability, we're able to innovate faster, prototype ideas more quickly and work collaboratively with customers to explore solutions to challenges that previously would have been difficult or time-consuming to address.

David Purkess built on this by demonstrating practical examples of where these capabilities could be applied within prison environments. Rather than presenting AI for its own sake, he focused on operational challenges that prison staff face every day: creating accessible communications, reducing repetitive administration, supporting multilingual prisoners, capturing information more efficiently through voice technology, and making complex information easier to access through AI-generated summaries and digital assistants.

What resonated most strongly throughout the session was that these weren't viewed as futuristic concepts. The conversations afterwards centred on practical value and the potential impact these ideas could have within operational settings.

Perhaps the clearest indication of the level of interest came from the audience itself. The room had capacity for around 40 people, yet ultimately welcomed approximately 80 attendees, with additional people unfortunately unable to enter.

For me, that reflected something much bigger than attendance numbers. Across the conversations throughout the day, it was evident that organisations across the justice sector are on similar journeys. Each faces its own operational challenges and constraints, but all are asking the same questions about how to adopt AI responsibly, bring their people with them, and apply these technologies where they can make a genuine difference.

If there was one takeaway from the day, it's this: AI implementation isn't about chasing technology. It's about understanding people, identifying meaningful problems to solve, and creating the confidence to turn opportunity into real operational impact.

Samantha Taylor

AI Implementation Manager

AI Impact Awards 2026 Winner