IS ANY MINISTRY MORE WOKE THAN THE MOJ?

I would suggest that most readers are aware of Donald Trump`s war on woke.  I make no apology for my own opinion on such actions as not before time.  I would also suggest that historically this country tends to follow the social trends in USA albeit with a year or three`s delay.  

Of all government departments the Ministry of Justice is perhaps the most sensitive to being on the right side of those "progressive thinkers" who fight against any relaxation of Diversity Equality and Inclusion.  As surely as J K Rowling rails against the concept of trans women with penises being real women the MOJ seeks to be whiter than white [to coin a phrase] in its pursuit of the ephemeral.  As far as the magistracy is concerned the watchword is local justice for local people by local magistrates.  In real terms what does this mantra mean and what are its contradictions? 

In real world no nonsense terms perhaps an extract from a recent Freedom of Information Request which elicited the following says it all:-

"Between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, 8 Muslims were appointed to the magistracy. Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, 71 Muslims were appointed to the magistracy." 

The table below is self explanatory if a magnifier virtual or actual is available.

Ethnicity of the professional judiciary is below.

Does the ratio of the ethnicity of District Judges cf magistrates affect outcomes?  I would venture to suggest it does not.  The appointment of District Judges or more senior judiciary does not for obvious reasons have being local as a requirement and nobody in his/her right mind would suggest otherwise.  

In recent months social media posts of  some MPs have elicited for those concerned some unpalatable information.  Within some supervisory bodies subsequent to serious crimes a similar tale of indiscretion or worse has been revealed to an astonished public.  From time to time magisterial indiscretions of one form or another have been posted here. Terrorist supporting registered medical personnel working in the NHS have been exposed on "X" yet magistrates`or applicants`  on line histories are not part of any vetting such  vetting as it is of candidates to the magistracy being carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service.  Other than that the MOJ does not carry out any further checks except receiving references.  Even the Deputy Senior District Judge Tanweer Ikram CBE was issued with a formal warning for misconduct for his perceived support of a terrorist organisation. To quote the JCIO "On 14 February, an article appeared in The Times stating that Judge Ikram had “liked” a post by a barrister on LinkedIn, which read:

“Free Free Palestine. To the Israeli terrorist both in the United Kingdom, the United States and of course Israel, you can run, you can bomb but you cannot hide – justice will be coming for you.”

How can the public be certain others similar might effectively  be judge, juror and sentencer sitting as a lay magistrate.  The Reform Party in particular is using immigration legal and illegal and particularly the number of Islamic immigrants as an electoral hand grenade blowing apart the official sentiments and incoherence of other parties on the subject.  Aside from factual information the following is advice for applicants to the magistracy:-

"Character questions. These include providing details of any Fixed Penalty Notice, past or present convictions/cautions/motor offences/bankruptcy proceedings. Has a spouse, partner, close family member or close friend received convictions or cautions which could affect your application to become a magistrate? Is there anything else in your private or working life, past or present, which could damage your credibility as a magistrate if it became known to the public?"

The last sentence is interesting. Would a Muslim candidate eg admit to being a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood; a banned organisation in many Muslim countries but not in the UK? With five MPs elected in July apparently behaving as if they are the MPs for the Gaza constituency and consequently being publicly reprimanded or reminded who their voters are how can the MOJ be confident that there is not another political scandal brewing if or when politics interferes with the legal process in magistrates courts? 

From the MOJ some additional facts:-

13. Magistrates in Post

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In comparison to judges, a higher proportion of magistrates are female, or from an ethnic minority background.

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Sex

Of the 14,576 magistrates in post across England and Wales as at 1 April 2024, 57% were female (five percentage points higher than in 2014). There was no strong variation amongst the regions, ranging from 54% to 61% (Figure 46).

Figure 46: Proportion of female magistrates by region, 1 April 2024

Ethnicity

As at 1 April 2024, ethnic minority individuals together constituted 13% of all magistrates (a five percentage-point increase from 2014 when 8% declared themselves as from an ethnic minority). More specifically for each ethnic minority group^{[footnote 46]}:

• Asian or Asian British individuals constituted 7% of magistrates.
• Black or black British individuals constituted 4% of magistrates.
• Mixed ethnicity individuals constituted 2% of magistrates.
• Individuals from other ethnicities constituted 1% of magistrates.

These proportions showed some variation at a regional level, where London had at least double the proportion of Asian individuals compared to all but one of the regions, and at least treble the proportion of black individuals compared to all other regions (Figure 47).

Figure 47: Proportion of magistrates from each ethnic minority group by region, 1 April 2024

Intersection of Sex and Ethnicity

Table 3.7 shows that just under half (49%) of all magistrates as at 1 April 2024 were white and female. This was followed by the white male group with 38%, and then the ethnic minority female and ethnic minority male groups (8% and 5% respectively).

Age

Magistrates tended to be older than judges on average, with 81% of those in post being 50 and over.

13.1 Magistrates - leavers and new entrants

The proportion of magistrates that left during 2023/24 who were female (55%) or of an ethnic minority background (13%) were both slightly lower than the equivalent proportion of new entrants in 2023/24, at 58% and 15% respectively.

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14. Magistrates Recruitment

On 17 January 2022, an updated magistrates’ recruitment process was launched. This update introduced a new applicant tracking system (ATS) which collects information on magistrate recruitment across England and Wales and includes more diversity data on applicants and recommendations for appointment to the magistracy.

This is the second year for which ATS magistrates’ recruitment data is being published^{[footnote 47]}. Figures are now shown on the number of appointments of magistrates, rather than recommendations, with updated figures for 2022/23 given in Table 3.8a.

Beginning with this year’s report, figures are shown for the number of applications concluded on the ATS, made up of those not shortlisted, not appointed and appointed during the year. These will be in contrast to and not comparable with the number of applications started in the year.

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The proportions of female individuals and ethnic minority individuals appointed to the magistracy are comparable to those already in post.

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14.1 Applications

Table 3.8b shows that during 2023-24, there were 4,025 applications made to become a magistrate^{[footnote 48]}.

Sex

More than half (55%) of all magistrate applications submitted in 2023-24 were from female individuals, comparable to the 57% of magistrates already in post. There is some variation by region where the proportion of female candidates for the South East and South West are each below 50% (Figure 48).

Figure 48: Proportion of female magistrate applications submitted in 2023-24, by region

Ethnicity

In total, ethnic minority individuals constituted about 30% of all magistrate applications submitted in 2023-24, more than twice as high as the 13% of magistrates in post^{[footnote 49]}. A wide variation in the proportion of ethnic minority applicants is seen at the regional level (Figure 49), from 9% in the South West and Wales to 51% in London. More specifically:

• Asian or Asian British individuals constituted 16% of applications.
• Black or Black British individuals constituted 9% of applications.
• Mixed ethnicity individuals constituted 4% of applications.
• Individuals from other ethnicity backgrounds constituted 2% of applications.

Figure 49: Representation of ethnic minorities among magistrate applications submitted in 2023-24, by region

Age

On average, those who applied to the magistracy in 2023-24 were younger than magistrates currently in post. 53% of magistrate applications were from candidates aged 50 or over, compared to 81% of magistrates in post.

14.2 Appointments^{[footnote 50]}

Table 3.8b shows that during 2023/24, 2,008 appointments to the magistracy were made in England and Wales^{[footnote 51]}.

Sex

Female individuals represented 58% of all magistrate appointments made in 2023-24. The female proportion of appointments by region ranged from 49% in the North West to 67% in London (Figure 50).

Figure 50: Proportion of female magistrate appointments made in 2023-24, by region

Ethnicity

In total, ethnic minority individuals constituted 16% of all magistrate appointments made in 2023-24. More specifically:

• Asian or Asian British individuals constituted 7% of recommendations.
• Black or black British individuals constituted 5% of recommendations.
• Mixed ethnicity individuals constituted 3% of recommendations.
• Individuals from other ethnicity backgrounds constituted 1% of recommendations.

By region, the proportion of those appointed who were from an ethnic minority background ranged from 8% for the South West and Wales, to 36% for London (Figure 51).

Figure 51: Representation of ethnic minorities among magistrate appointments made in 2023-24, by region

Age

Of all the magistrates appointed in 2023-24, 59% of them were aged 50 or over.