Admissibility of computer generated evidence
T R H Sizer, A Kelman · ITNOW · 1981
‘Mr F. Kean of Southsea received the following letter from his finance company. DEAR CUSTOMER I HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO WRITE AUTOMATIC LETTERS REGARDING CUSTOMER ARREARS. SO FAR ONLY YOU AND I KNOW OF YOUR ARREARS BUT UNLESS SOME IMPROVEMENT IS MADE IN THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS I AM PROGRAMMED TO CIRCULARISE FULL DETAILS OF YOUR DEBT. THIS IS MY LAST LETTER. YOURS FAITHFULLY THE COMPUTER Mr Kean was not, in fact, in arrears.’ Report of the Committee on Data Protection page 118. Cmnd 7341. The BCS Committee on Computer Evidence was established in June 1980 to study the problems associated with computer evidence in Courts of Law. The decision of the Court of Appeal in the Pettigrew case was foremost in the minds of the members of the committee at the start of its work. However, the members were unanimous in the belief that they should concern themselves not only with the direct issue of admissibility but also with the way in which reliability and accuracy of computer output affected the value of such output as evidence per se. The likely effects of developments in microelectronics, wideband communication and software were also taken into account. The committee was greatly assisted in its deliberations by presentations given by experts on various aspects of the problem. Vigorous debate developed amongst the members and the observers who attended from time to time. Between them was represented a broad range of professional interests. It was felt at the outset that the Committee should attempt to discover how the problems associated with computer evidence had been dealt with abroad. The committee is grateful to the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies for allowing a member to use its extensive library facilities for investigating foreign approaches to the problems. In addition, the committee records its thanks to Mr Hendrik G. Milne of Florida, who provided written evidence of the situation in the USA.