A 1986 Home Office study of the flow of information through the criminal justice system (CJS) found that the huge quantity of information moving between separate agencies was primarily transmitted by paper means. As a result, a steering committee for the Coordination of Computerisation in the Criminal Justice System (CCCJS) was established in early 1989. The CCCJS focused on promoting cooperative working and automatic information exchange between CJS agencies in order to improve the accuracy, timeliness, and availability of information. Current operation of the CCCJS indicates that an adequate infrastructure can facilitate automatic information exchange. This infrastructure consists of standards, policies, and a systemwide computer network. Computers are already in widespread use in most CJS agencies, but computer developments have occurred largely in isolation. The result is that there is very little compatibility between computers. Over the next 5 years, the CCCJS will be working to improve compatibility and promote automatic information exchange on a national scale. 15 references