The use of computers in Magistrates' courts began in April 1985. This study focuses on the type and amount of data exchanged, how this information is transferred, for what purpose the data is being used, and how this data meets court requirements. Attitudes toward automatic data interchange were gathered from a variety of agencies, and the court's interaction with the police was studied. It was the opinion of the police that they did not have enough access to the computers, while the court opposed the idea of having the police have access to the computers outside of office hours. Other agencies studied were the Probation Service, Prisons, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Center, the Department of Health and Social Security, the Department of Employment, and several others. The author concludes the improvements in the standard of interagency information exchange are essential. Appendix, references, listing of Home Office Research Reports.