THE BIZARRE GUIDELINES OF THE INDEPENDENT POLICE COMPLAINTS COMMISSION

 

02. Apr. 2010. – 18:19:45

The Police are always open to criticism not necessarily because their speech or actions or any contact with the public is against any sort of regulation or law but because they are police officers per se; they have such powers over the citizen that many people involved in some aspect of the legal system would have some difficulty some of the time over some possible infraction of that law. That said they also have to tread carefully in the dispensing of said powers.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is a Quango of the premier division of quangos. Its investigations have led to many police officers having to face the music of one sort or another. Therefore in my opinion it behoves that organisation to do its utmost to retain the respect of all parties; police and citizen. Recent news leads me to think that in bending over backwards to be seen as so totally non partisan and politically so correct its contortions have led to its head being somewhat up its rear. In new guidance to police it states that, "even if the complaint seems to be bizarre, implausible or intrinsically without foundation it should still be investigated and recorded"  and continues "The mere fact that a person has been diagnosed as having a mental illness or learning disability does not mean that he or she will lack capacity to make a complaint against police."

Not surprisingly this has not been greeted with joyous rapture by those blue uniformed guys `n gals who have frequent encounters with those, who, quite frankly, until the 1980s were kept under close care in large locked buildings for their own good as well as ours those buildings now often re-developed as luxury flats.

Not surprisingly this has not been greeted with joyous rapture by those blue uniformed guys `n gals who have frequent encounters with those, who, quite frankly, until the 1980s were kept under close care in large locked buildings for their own good as well as ours those buildings now often re-developed as luxury flats.

The guidance includes the following, "The Police Reform Act does not permit an appropriate authority to decline to record a complaint simply because it appears bizarre, implausible or intrinsically without foundation."

I leave it the imagination of readers to muse on what form a bizarre and/or implausible complaint could take......flying saucer disturbed the daffodils perhaps or Boris Johnson ate my hamster...............

MAGISTRATES` TRAINING AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

 02. Apr. 2010. – 16:43:45 

I`ve written here on a few occasions about "Domestic Violence" and the fact that there is no such offence in law....... yet. Another "specialist" court has recently been set up in East London; The Thames Specialist Domestic Violence Court at Thames Magistrates` Court in Bow Road subsequently to having met twelve government required criteria ranging from separate entrances for complainants to "magistrates who are trained to deal with domestic violence cases". Although I do not sit in that area I too am a "specially trained magistrate trained to deal with domestic violence cases". I and my colleagues do not have to be "specially trained" to deal with non domestic violence cases, nor any driving offences which fall within our jurisdiction, nor the hundreds of other offences with which we deal every time we sit. 

The nub of the specialist DV training is an attempt to provide us with historical, social and most disconcertingly spurious statistical evidence to take with us into a DV court. My opinion, although I believe it is not shared by the majority of my colleagues, is that violence in a domestic context be judged on the evidence presented in court as is every case in a British court of law.

As a matter of record it has been reported that since the court opened in October 2009 there have been 115 domestic violence trials, resulting in 21 prison sentences and 14 restraining orders for perpetrators. If we assume that each of those 35 disposals represents the result of 35 trials we are left in the dark about the verdicts and corresponding disposals if any of the remaining 80 trials. 

THE GREEN POLICE OF HERTFORDSHIRE

 

01. Apr. 2010. – 23:04:08

Are we as our particular group whatever that might be in favour of a pledge to be gentle with babies? Yes of course we are. Are we pledged to be nice to our elderly mums? Nothing but nice. Do we pledge to walk with our left foot after our right or perhaps our right after our left? Do we pledge to hope that the world does not become too warm even if it`s not our fault? Are we crazy? We would be if we continued in this manner.

Hertfordshire Police is the first police force nationally to sign up to the Nottingham Declaration. This apparently is a voluntary agreement to tackle the causes of climate change. And I had thought they were having a hard time doing the jobs they`re paid to do eg preventing disorder and catching offenders. By subscribing to it they are pledging to address climate change. Not only are they going to be tackling this in the leafy lanes of Hertfordshire they`re going to spread these good works and words to reduce emissions across the country. They have already started to update green policies across Hertfordshire Constabulary including introducing an automatic overnight shutdown of three-quarters of the force's computers. That seems a good idea but what about all the information that I presume comes from all these people and computers who operate 24 hour shifts? I am sure they will pledge that they can cope. Perhaps they should order a few hundred new bikes to spread the good news to the council tax payers. No that`s not quite in the spirit of this post. Let them pledge to consider ordering an especially nice tandem for the Chief Constable and Stuart Nagler, Chair of the Hertfordshire Police Authority.

MAGISTRATES CAN BE TRUSTED SAYS MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

 

01. Apr. 2010. – 15:38:35

      It seems that the government has concluded that Justices of the Peace are not a danger to society. Today a notice has been issued to that effect; namely that we will not have to be certified by the Independent Safeguarding Authority. {see below} That really does make me feel trusted to do justice to all without fear or favour as I and my colleagues swore to do when appointed.  I just needed to be reminded....

Magistrates: Independent Safeguarding Authority

MoJ Statement

Magistrates: Independent Safeguarding Authority

I am pleased to confirm that it has been established that the position of 'Magistrate' is not a regulated activity for the purposes of the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). This means that it will not be a requirement for existing Magistrates, including those who serve on the youth and family panels, to register with the ISA when registration commences from 26 July 2010. ISA-registration will not be required either for candidates for appointment to the Magistracy.

Candidates will need to continue to apply for enhanced level disclosure checks with the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), and the successful outcome of this check will continue to be a key part of the pre-appointment process.

A new CRB application form is being introduced from late June 2010 and the Magistrates Policy & Appointments Branch at the Ministry of Justice will be sending out a Circular to Advisory Committees in April about this change.

IS HIGH LEVEL CORRUPTION BECOMING ENDEMIC IN U.K?

 

01. Apr. 2010. – 15:24:35

       Although it`s nearly a year since the scandal of MPs` fiddles broke in the Daily Telegraph it seems like yesterday.  Criminal proceedings are underway against four MPs, The Lords is also investigating its own suspected wrong doers. The BBC is attempting to evade answering the question of the identities of its £100K employees.  Banks which are now virtually nationalised beyond the wildest dreams of the late Michael Foot and Aneurin Bevin and are therefore under government control are being castigated for continuing to pay certain staff enormous sums of money which arguably should be being lent to small business.   

        Scandals within public quoted companies, politicians etc and even the judiciary [few and far between] have been with us for hundreds of years. It could be argued that now in the age of the world wide web tracks covering is a trifle more difficult for upper class white collar villains. But now just a day  after the Met Police`s former top non white officer has been thrown out and might lose his pension it has been published that the Chief Constable and Deputy Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police are the subject of an investigation managed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) following allegations that they gave help to relatives applying for work.
       
When corruption appears to be commonplace within the widest definition of public bodies it is truly time to take note.  Combine that with this authoritarian government`s ever increasing control of every day activities, continual attempts to alter public opinion by deceitful use of inaccurate statistics and I would venture to observe that we are at the equivalent of the Goths being on the banks of the Tiber 536A.D.  Our homes won`t be sacked, our cattle will not be slaughtered nor our daughters raped but what we nostalgically refer to as the British way of life will be but a memory  about which social dinosaurs  will reminisce on feast days.

THE PROBATION SERVICE AND ALL FOOLS` DAY;A PERFECT FIT?

 01. Apr. 2010. – 13:12:24 

Today used to be called All Fools Day. In parts of Europe it still is. Its origins are diverse and unclear but are thought to have been referred to in France in the mid 16th century when the country was moving from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar and those who stubbornly continued to follow the former were referred to as Poisson d`Avril, or April Fish which, to this day, remains the French term for April Fools and so the tradition was born. 

There is perhaps a fishy smell about the latest news to come from the London Probation Service or perhaps it is what it appears on the surface to be........a ship of fools manned by fools. On the one hand of government the public must not think that Judges and Magistrates are too lenient in their sentencing and on the other these self same members of the judiciary are exhorted to use non custodial means to punish/rehabilitate those offenders for whom there might be some light at the end of their offending tunnel. No need to mention that the prisons are 95% - 100% full at any one time and cannot accommodate any more £600 per week guests. 

Malcolm Jenkin, director of interventions for London Probation, said London Probation "has temporarily ceased using casual status project supervisors in community payback. He suggested other restrictive measures be considered for convicted offenders. This reduction in availability began on 8th February and ended yesterday 31st March. Harry Fletcher, the assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, was quoted as saying, "not surprised". He added that some officers now only had time to spend only fifteen minutes a week with offenders they were meant to be monitoring. 

A spokesperson from the Probation Service said, "The effect was small and manageable, and had no effect whatsoever on the overall length of unpaid work to which offenders were sentenced. " 

That spokesperson really does take us all for fools referring to the arrangement as if it were pre planned and a normal occurrence and had little relationship to the admission that cash had run out before the year end. For one thing it demonstrates all too clearly that similarly to HMCS`s pre-occupation with targets for how long to do "this" and how many days until "that" happens no mention of quality or lack of it is considered worthy of comment......after all how can quality be demonstrated or measured to show everything`s just fine. 

Peter`s Principle; the theory that an employee within an organisation will advance to his or her level of incompetence and remain there, governs so many of those on the public payroll from Parliament Square to the local sorting office that St Peter should replace George as the patron saint of England......after all so many emulate him and his theory it`s a perfect fit. 

MINISTRY OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY AND GORDON WANTS IT ALL

 24. Mar. 2010. – 17:32:24 

The Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Justice have chosen Budget Day a few weeks before an election is announced to tell us that Her Majesty`s Court Service which not surprisingly runs the criminal and county courts system etc is to take over the running of the Tribunals Service which deals mainly with employer/employee civil disputes. Once again following the motto bigger is better those who govern us give more control to fewer often incapable worthies.  Education now includes overseeing nursery schools, inland revenue and customs fight for control and many others with a history of amalgamated breakdown have been fodder for the Sunday papers.  Let the big fish remain in what is left of their little ponds......p l e a s e. 

WARRANTS OF ENTRY AND APPLICATIONS TO DISCONNECT UTILITY SUPPLY

 23. Mar. 2010. – 17:51:54

    

        Amongst the "extra" matters dealt with in Magistrates` Courts I have recently commented on statutory declarations.  Another common function for all JPs is deciding whether or not to grant Warrants of Entry for utility companies either to disconnect supply gas or electricity [usually at vacant or business premises] or to replace a regular meter with a pre-payment meter.  It has been and might still be the norm for these applications to be "rubber stamped" without too much investigation. 
       

        However with many colleagues in various courts all over the country I have been consulting a "good practice guide" which encourages courts to take a more inquisitorial approach to these applications in spite of the time taken when there is a crowded list. 
       

        A magistrate from a neighbouring court told me recently that when he was sitting outside his own court he was surprised at the novel questioning of the applicants by the chairman.  It had never happened when he was sitting at his own court.  In the session one application was to disconnect the landlord`s supply in a block of flats the tenants having no say in the matter.  In practice it would probably have meant no lighting to the common parts eg entrance hall and stairways. In view of the possible danger to infirm or elderly occupants falling down stairs that bench refused the application and suggested no further application be made until there was a firm refusal from the absentee landlord to pay the outstanding bill of c£300.  He also described an application to fit a pre-payment meter [always a higher tariff] to an occupier he discovered was two weeks late in an arrears payment previously agreed.  This history was discovered he reported  by the chairman`s questioning the bailiff in quite some detail.
       

        He told me that he had never previously sat on a bench which had refused an application to disconnect and fit a pre-payment meter.  Information from that episode he said would be conveyed to his "home" court.

        Addendum 13th June 2022

       The above was written when I was active in 2010.  Now I am long retired I can add that I was the presiding  magistrate in all matters above a situation which at the time I had to disguise as I had considered publishing well before I retired. Altering my bench`s approach to this subject was my proudest achievement as a J.P.  The iniquitous practice previously employed to literally rubber stamp applications was discontinued in favour of a rigorous inquisitorial approach. I am unaware of how my old bench now treats such applications.  

WHO WOULD HAVE BELIEVED IT? DO WE ACTUALLY PAY THEM?

 23. Mar. 2010. – 17:15:46 

       With the news of the world, literally, not the Sunday Rag, available around the clock one occasionally finds snippets that are just there to be shared.

       Last Friday Avon and Somerset Police opened a dedicated line for applicants for 64 police officer trainees. More than 1,000 applied between 7.00am and 3.00pm and lines were closed. At a time of recession and a surplus of bright school leavers who won`t get to university it was surprising that the force`s spokesperson said they were overwhelmed with the response. Let`s hope the successful applicants make better and more far sighted police officers than those individuals in the HR department of the force. So in two years if a young constable in that area behaves in anything but an extemporary fashion when in contact with a member of the public or can`t tell his Avon from his Somerset don`t blame him blame those who selected him. 
       

       We on the other hand select our MPs when we truly have a choice from candidates who, we hope, show a modicum of common sense. In a report released today, the Home Affairs Committee says "early intervention is key to reducing criminality and the ability to identify those most at risk is an important tool in crime prevention." Now who would have thought it? I was always of the opinion that one is better served by avoiding early intervention in criminal activity and waiting until a truly heinous crime is committed but then again MPs know best don`t they? 

      And to conclude that it`s best to know who are liable to be victims of crime to assist in crime prevention is not just great insight; it`s a revelation for us mere mortals. We can only stand and stare in wonderment at these luminaries of our age.

         

STATUTARY DECLARATION & SERVICE OF SUMMONS

 

21. Mar. 2010. – 13:03:11

Most holders of a UK driving license have heard of "totting"; the addition of penalty points which are endorsed on a license for various offences eg speeding, no insurance, careless driving etc etc. In most cases upon reaching twelve points there is an automatic six month disqualification from driving in this country. It is the accepted practice that in order to ensure a driver is not unaware of the sanction when penalty  points reach or breach the magic twelve s/he is summonsed to appear before magistrates.  The summons is considered "served" when proof of first class posting is presented to the court.  This, as is all too obvious, allows defendants to declare truthfully or otherwise that they have never received such a summons.  There are arguments for and against instituting "signed for" service but that is for another time.

A very common appearance before a bench is the individual making a statutory declaration in which s/he declares and signs to the effect that eg an event has or has not occurred and the applicant wants to put matters straight.  One common such "has not occurred" event is the non receipt of a court summons and therefore the consequent inability to have complied with the subsequent court directive deriving from that summons.

A couple of weeks ago a woman made and signed such a "stat dec" to the effect that she had not received a summons for a motoring offence for which she was in her absence fined and disqualified from driving as a "totter" the court having had a print out from the DVLA in front of it and therefore full knowledge of her previous penalty points.  She had been away from home for three months and as she lived alone nobody had forwarded or opened her mail.  She came to court two days after coming home and reading the summons.  She was advised that after her form had been countersigned by a Justice of the Peace on the bench the matter was "dropped" and the papers would be returned to the CPS and court involved which would at its discretion decide whether or not to re-issue the summons. She was told that she was still able to drive as the points which had tipped her over the edge were erased at least for now.

          

       The whole system of the service of court summons is a cause for concern.  For example there are millions of immigrants new to the country in the last fifteen years; many live in rented accommodation and frequently change address; most are law abiding members of the community but unfortunately anecdotal evidence suggests that they are  liable to appear in court at least as often and possibly at a higher rate than UK citizens. For them and for all citizens the obvious answer is personal service but the cost, the cost, the cost!

IS THE CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE PROSTITUTING ITS OWN SERVICE?

 
 
18 Mar. 2010. – 22:13:50 

The Crown Prosecution Service has announced that it plans to deploy Associate Prosecutors formally known as Designated Case Workers to prosecute at summary trials at Magistrates` Courts.  These individuals were not and are not qualified lawyers.  When they began work some few years ago in remand courts, dealing amongst other things with bail applications and sentencing we were told they would not be involved in trials where in addition to legal and procedural knowledge the art of advocacy is of major importance.

Think back a few years when nurses` leaders began the push for their new applicants to be graduates and that the messy business of  dealing with patients` actual physical and bodily requirements could be undertaken by lower or virtually unqualified  auxiliaries.  Who heard of teaching assistants actually taking classes fifteen or so years ago?  Police Community Support Officers are on the streets where many would argue trained police officers should be.  The educational requirements for PCSOs are very low but so are their wages.  And there you have it.  Powers that be sniff out jobs which they believe do not need high paid well trained personnel.  And so to the courts.  With the sorry story of the Crown Prosecution Service in London and a surplus of unemployed lawyers it seems ridiculous to infuse this mess with staff not legally qualified however eager they might be. They will be regulated by IPS, a regulatory company established by ILEX to take responsibility for the regulation of Legal Executives. ILEX is the professional body representing 22,000 qualified and trainee Legal Executives and is an Approved Regulator under the terms of the Legal Services Act 2007.

As many doctors have commented on nurse prescribers taking many primary care functions; if they want to do these tasks let them study medicine. Not surprisingly IPS chief executive Ian Watson said the standard was sufficient to ensure competence.  Legal Aid is available to provide legal representation for defendants under certain conditions.  This does not extend to legal executives being paid by the state to defend miscreants.  The only justification for this lowering of standards is not to provide a high class service but to save money.  But don`t wait for any member of the government to admit this.  And the bosses at CPS are like service men and women; they will do their jobs as well as they can and keep their criticism until they are no longer in harness.  Haven`t we heard similar previously from senior policemen, ex chairmen of this or that quango, former generals and of course former cabinet members.  Plus ca change..............

UNPUBLISHED CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE STATISTICS RE "NOT GUILTY" LONDON TRIAL VERDICTS

 

16. Mar. 2010. – 12:43:29

Arresting suspected criminals is the job of the Police. Bringing suspected criminals to court and offering evidence against them if they plead not guilty is the job of the Crown Prosecution Service. The CPS operates within a strictly defined code.

Very many defendants plead guilty at various stages from arrest or even when their trial is about to begin. I am not about to consider this category. This post is about those who have pleaded not guilty and proceed to trial at Magistrates` Courts in London.

Discussing trial outcomes with colleagues and senior officers in other areas of the criminal justice system it was suggested that I endeavour to ascertain the proportion of those found not guilty after trial at Magistrates` Courts. Subsequent conversations showed that the publication of such statistics ceased in 1999. However this blogger has been given figures for the last three years which are cause for concern.
Today's report from the BBC also expresses that concern and here are the figures which prove that concern is well founded:-

The overall figure for London`s Magistrates` Courts where the defendants are found not guilty after trial is 36.96% Disregarding those London magistrates courts where the numbers are too low to be meaningful the latest statistics for those found Not Guilty after trial vary from 13.88% at Wimbledon MC to 81.82 at Acton MC.

NAME OF MAGISTRATES` COURT                                                   % FOUND NOT GUILTY

Wimbledon                                                                        13.88
Richmond                                                                           14.92
Harrow                                                                               16.41
Bromley                                                                              17.41
Havering                                                                             17.61
Bexley                                                                                 20.81
Barking                                                                               21.38
Acton                                                                                  81.82
Greenwich                                                                          78.03
Thames                                                                               76.86
Woolwich                                                                           75.60
Highgate                                                                             75.56
Kingston                                                                             75.52
Enfield                                                                                75.25
Ealing                                                                                  73.56
Camberwell Green                                                                                    73.33
South West                                                                          72.46
Highbury                                                                             71.27
Sutton                                                                                  71.09

West London                                                                      70.20                      

I make no attempt to explain those figures but they do require to be explained by one more versed in the subject than I. And certainly CPS London should be focusing their minds if they are not already doing so on why such variations exist.

• NO HALF MEASURES; IF YOU DRINK A TEASPOONFUL AND DRIVE YOU`RE GUILTY 

15. Mar. 2010. – 16:05:41

Like every magistrate and judge I am bound to follow legal practice and make appropriate decisions whether or not I am personally in agreement with the necessary application.  If I am faced with applying legislation of which I heartily disapprove I can resign; that is my choice.  When the matter under consideration is driving with excess alcohol [drink driving] I am applying a series of laws of which I heartily approve. The fact that a drunk driver caused the death of somebody close to me was a personal reminder just how necessary is such legislation.

Therefore it was disturbing to me that  a report in The Sunday Times [14 th March]   indicated that the government plans to cut the legal limit to 50mg alcohol in 100ml blood from the current level of 80mg and perhaps reduce the driving disqualification for those guilty,  from the minimum twelve months if their alcohol level fell within the new reduced limit.  It might be thought odd that I describe this news as "disturbing".  There is not a driver who does not know that part of the punishment for drink driving is a ban of at least one year.  Those who drink and drive deserve no pity.  To achieve the current level usually more than one pint or two glasses of wine or spirits is needed.  The drink driver is highly culpable.  If a reduced blood alcohol level were to be  introduced it is possible in my opinion for that culpability  to be considered at a lower level,..... "I only had half a pint your worship......."  Worse still would be if the introduction of penalty points instead of disqualification became an option. This would be an encouragement to have just a "small one".

If this government is considering another pre-election announcement it should be zero tolerance for drink driving ...ie anything other than a zero level of alcohol in blood would be considered enough to convict [medical cases excepted as is the case occasionally at present].  Culpability would then continue be at its highest with very very few occasions allowing anything but an automatic disqualification as now of twelve months.

 

NEED TO PEE IN CITY OF WESTMINSTER?

 

12. Mar. 2010. – 14:09:05

The capital's biggest ever crackdown on people urinating in the street saw 12 shamed-faced revellers face magistrates after being caught red-handed in Westminster.

They were all sentenced and fined a total of £1900 by the court, with fines ranging from £50 - £250, after either being found guilty or admitting to the offence of urinating in a public place following a crackdown by Westminster City Council and the Metropolitan Police in the run up to Christmas.

The above is an extract from a report on the City of Westminster website.  It does not seem unreasonable one might think.  However next time you eat and drink in a cafe or sandwich bar in the same City of Westminster and feel required to relieve yourself bear in mind that such establishments do not require to have lavatory facilities for their customers.  Such is the state of joined up government in the London Borough which hosts the Houses of Parliament.

VIRTUAL COURT MELTDOWN

 12. Mar. 2010. – 12:48:22

I have written previously of virtual courts  based on the principle that taking justice away from the courtroom where it belongs so that apart  from exceptional circumstances all can participate "in the flesh" and imposing in its place remote access is a technological and social step too far.

The Law Society Gazette reports today that the whole system being piloted in Camberwell Green Magistrates` Court went into "meltdown" last month.  This is just another nail in the history of this government`s rushing into IT projects which benefit nobody except the pockets of IT specialists, IT  companies and their shareholders.  I have today instructed my GP to withhold my details from being inputted into the NHS Summary Care Records program.  I would suggest that anyone who believes rightly or wrongly that the state is becoming dictatorially oppressive goes to BIG BROTHER WATCH

NO SECURITY AT MAGISTRATES` COURTS

 

12. Mar. 2010. – 12:04:37

Hendon Magistrates Court is situated in North West London amidst private and council houses, offices, light industrial units and many car showrooms..........a typical court  in a typical building.  And as is the case in most......perhaps all, but that would be only a reasoned presumption............courtrooms, bar the main remand court,  there are no permanently placed security personnel or police officers.  Contrast that with the courts  I have visited in America and the Caribbean where there is always at least one armed police officer on duty.

Earlier this week an irate member of the public left the public gallery at Hendon Court and entered the courtroom mouthing abuse at the three JPs on the Bench. He was restrained by a defending solicitor and rapidly ran from court.  The magistrates had left the court for their own safety.  This is not an uncommon occurrence.  My own colleagues have faced similar actions and threats to kill from in the courtroom and without.  The security of a courtroom and those within is paramount for the effective process of our open justice system.  Until a judge or magistrate is killed in court there is no chance whatsoever of requisite security being available.

YET MORE CRIME STATISTICS BUT ARE WE ANY NEARER THE TRUTH?

 

09. Mar. 2010. – 11:13:01

My repeated comments on the need for respected audited crime statistics which would provide a solid base for discussions and proposals on what is one of the most important concerns of voters come once again to the fore with the publication of figures by the Independent Commons Library.  These show a 44% increase in violent crime since Labour came to power.  Tory and Liberal spokesmen will make a sumptuous meal of this latest  piece of numerical juggling.  It is truly medieval akin to the study of chickens` entrails by the three witches that figures mean what the speaker wants them to mean.  It is an insult to our intelligence that all political parties  are eager to play this game.

COURTS STAFF ON STRIKE

 9 Mar. 2010. – 10:50:43

Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) went on strike yesterday [continuing today]for the second time in the last few years. I was in court all day yesterday and whatever was happening in the boiler rooms of office administration at the surface disruption was minimal. I do not know how many of our legally qualified and other staff stayed at home but there were no picket lines and a visitor from Mars would have been hard put to detect any change in normal procedures. 

Of the six scheduled courts one went down but all trials went ahead. Since the creation of  Her Majesty`s Court Service all legal advisers` contracts allow for them to be sent to any court in our cluster and sitting with two such people for the first time was an interesting experience. One had previously been heavily involved in IT in a previous life and her use of the computer on her desk made us sit up in amazement like meerkats in the TV ads at what could be accomplished by one whose fingers moved at warp speed. Our experience in the afternoon sitting was equally stimulating insofar as his authoritative position in front of us and his megaphone tones combined with an encyclopaedic knowledge [not to belittle our regulars] was stimulating for all advocates present as well as the bench.

The top management also took their places in the courtrooms. In fact I think they enjoyed being once again in the thick of it. 

A PARALLEL COURTS SYSTEM

 

 06. Mar. 2010. – 14:13:22

Courts of law are not the only places where the justice system operates. "Courts" held by many professional bodies have procedures similar to those in the Criminal Justice System adjusted for their individual requirements and subject to judicial review and government intervention when considered appropriate.

One such is the General Medical Council which has spawned such offspring as the General Teaching Council, General Optical Council etc etc. Its duty is not just to investigate possible medical malpractice but to adjudicate on whether non medical activities are such that the fitness to practise of a registrant is a danger to the public. One such example is the case of Dr Nushan Pasindu Gunawardana , who having been caught speeding, unprofessionally asked a colleague to provide a letter in mitigation to the Court which was intended to create an impression in relation to the speeding offence which was misleading and dishonest. It is unconfirmed whether or not the erring student was disqualified from driving as a result. Recently a GMC disciplinary panel admitted that although his behaviour had “been a departure from good medical practice,” its members rejected claims that it impaired his ability to work in the medical profession.

The moral question is at what level of dishonest or disreputable behaviour does a registrant, student or otherwise, of a professional body become liable for punishment and if so to what degree. Clearly a student teacher convicted of an offence of abuse against children is unlikely to be considered to be training in the appropriate profession for his/her or the public good. A student optometrist on the other hand convicted of assault might, depending on the facts, be allowed to continue his/her studies. The only undisputable fact is that since the Shipman case all professional bodies have been directed by government to overhaul their disciplinary procedures and make them open to public scrutiny. After all, the removal from a professional register is tantamount to a fine of almost unlimited levels and the loss of a lifetime`s investment in time and money.

VENABLES, LEGALLY, MORALLY, PHILOSOPHICALLY, AND FINANCIALLY

 

06. Mar. 2010. – 12:19:34

Like many others involved directly with the legal system I`ve been thinking through the facts in the Venables case. He is only the fourth individual to have had life lifelong anonymity granted to him. The others being his co defendant Robert Thompson and Mary Bell and her daughter. With Venables in custody and its being only a matter of time before full details are available officially or unofficially decisions will have to be taken on whether he has forfeited his cloak of invisibility. This is primarily a legal and arguably a moral decision. However I pose the question that if he has an absolute right to anonymity would that continue if he were to appear in court on a serious charge? Irrespective of the outcome of said trial would he be offered a further change of identity? Is this process an indefinite guarantee? The legal answers, the moral viewpoints and the financial implications are on a collision course.

SELF INDUCED DRUNKEN SEMI CONSCIOUS ABUSIVE WORDS

 

05. Mar. 2010. – 11:24:29

Recent retiring room discussions reminded me of an interesting case on which I sat four or five years ago. A young Somali woman faced a charge of "using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour ". She was not represented.

In the street she was very drunk and the medic on the ambulance which had been called by a bystander could not persuade her to go to hospital so he called police and with their knowledge left to attend another emergency call. On their arrival her situation seemed precarious....she was in and out of consciousness and they recalled the ambulance. Before its arrival for a second time she appeared to be more lucid and began swearing and verbally abusing the officers who arrested her, took her to the station where she was charged. In her own defence she agreed she was so drunk she remembered nothing at all of the incident. She continued her denial under cross examination.

Discussing whether or not the CPS had proved the charge we decided that her intoxication went beyond an aggravating factor and that if we accepted her version she was without awareness, control or intent. However our legal adviser on hearing our intended conclusion and referring to the appropriate sections told us that if intoxication is self administered awareness of which the defendant had none must be considered as if not intoxicated and therefore she was guilty.

I cannot recollect having sat on a similar case since.

MAGISTRATES SHOULD BE ABLE TO SIT PAST 70

 03. Mar. 2010. – 19:15:29 

It`s well known now that this is the age of the baby boomers; those fortunate enough to have been born between the end of WW2 and 1960. I`m proud to mention that I`m one of them. Like the others I have been blessed with the most nutritious feeding in my younger years from free orange juice the unique taste of which is still there in a few synapses of my long term memory, the daily supply of free milk at primary school, the lack of junk food because it was not available and a grant from the local authority which along with vocational working allowed me to emerge from a university education owing not a penny. But then I was part of the privileged some would say 10% of eighteen year olds who attended university.

Like my peers I look forward to being intellectually and physically active until I make it four score years unless the gods on high will it otherwise. The Ministry of Justice certainly wills it otherwise. Retirement for Justices of the Peace at 70 is compulsory. The Magistrates Association takes a not unsympathetic view to the possibility of this age being extended provided the individual has retained all the competences necessary to do the job. Its Council is meeting on 25th March and will be discussing this mandatory retirement age. If and when I meet the biblical three score years and ten I hope that health, demographics, economics and wise counsel will prevail with the Ministry and I will be able to extend my time on the Bench. 

MAGISTRATES & ANOTHER LABOUR INITIATIVE

 03. Mar. 2010. – 14:23:41

Today the Home Secretary has announced another "government initiative"; The "Safe and Confident Neighbourhoods" strategy he asserts will build on the success of neighbourhood policing and will ensure anyone with a concern about crime and antisocial behaviour gets the assistance they need. This is another pre election announcement purporting to be a policy but is rather a good intention re-stating what is or should be expected from current management. Whilst it is possible to hold one`s self up to be a hostage of fortune when commenting on government`s intentions when very little is known of the practicalities there is one aspect published which I find disturbing. He outlined a strategy which included inviting chairs of magistrates' benches to make appropriate arrangements by which magistrates could be involved with neighbourhood partnerships in their areas, whilst protecting judicial independence and avoiding any perception of bias;

Call me old fashioned but my view is that Magistrates who are all unpaid volunteers are best suited for that which they have been extensively and expensively trained; to preside over courts of justice where 95% of criminal cases are heard. In their own time many JPs are involved with "Magistrates in the Community" programme demonstrating to local school children just how the legal system works including mock trials where children assume the roles of the court officers....magistrates, lawyers, probation officers etc. Many colleagues also have roles within local organisations giving insights and personal opinions of their role in particular and in general. But the wording of the above quoted paragraph leads me to wonder whether the "arrangements" to which references are made are perhaps at the boundary of what members of the judiciary should be expected to do especially re-reading the last phrase "whilst protecting judicial independence and avoiding any perception of bias" 

VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS & NOW VICTIM SENTENCING

 26. Feb. 2010. – 10:51:47

A system of criminal justice whether in Biblical times or England in the 17th or 21st century arises and develops when the squire, lord of the manor, earl or laterally the state dispenses justice with a dispassionate hand to maintain order and to remove the likelihood of vigilantism, victims` revenge, vendetta or however one would describe taking the law into one`s own hands.
Victim Impact Statements were introduced into our legal system by that arch-meddler Harriet Harman, when she was minister for constitutional affairs. It is intended to explain the effects upon the victim[s] of the offender`s actions. It was trumpeted as not being intended to affect sentencing. If sentencing were by mathematical calculation on a grid chart that might just be credible but it is flesh and blood judges who sentence. To assert that they are immune from emotional influence is a gross untruth.

It seems that comments on Greater Manchester Police have been a source of a few topics on this blog. Today is another when that force`s initiatives for good or evil have informed this effort.
In May, Tameside and Salford divisions will pilot schemes in which victims of low level criminal activity influence in how these miscreants should be punished. The scheme will see officers working with victims of shoplifting, criminal damage and anti-social behaviour to find alternative punishments to arrest and charge. So here we have more offenders not only being tried, convicted and sentenced by police without recourse to a court of law but with the added input of victim retribution albeit tempered and not allowed to develop into a full scale eye for an eye sharia type retribution.

I cannot overstate my complete opposition to such developments. Whatever the ostensibly benign motives behind this proposal it is the increasingly not so thin edge of an ever increasing wedge with the potential to develop into what can without euphemism be termed a "police state". A culture of police authoritarianism is slowly gaining momentum and with the public cynicism of our parliamentarians in full flow who or what is there to plug the leaks in our democracy? 

 

POLICE CHIEF GONE MISSING

 

26. Feb. 2010. – 10:18:18

There are sometimes when one wonders how sub editors earn their pay. In today`s Leicester Mercury there is the headline:

"Search is on for new Leicestershire police chief"

Perhaps he got lost on the way to his new office.......