KNIFE PREVENTION ORDERS; PAPERING OVER THE CRACKS

I have posted more than a few times on ASBOs and the like. Use the search box for posts.  Essentially they are civil orders breaching of which is a criminal offence.  I would term them displacement orders insofar as eg Drink Banning Orders can order the miscreant to do his/her boozing in another county or another town.  There have even been cases where the order has been nationwide.  They are IMHO a complete waste of time and an abrogation of our society to deter and if necessary punish people for their criminality.  But and it`s a big "but" they are simple and cheap to operate. And for the last nine years it appears that our criminal justice system is like the original motto of Tesco; pile it high and pile it cheap. The ASBO, CRASBO and DBO`s latest incarnation is the Knife Crime Prevention Order.  For actual details access this link. Stop and search operations were drastically curtailed by Theresa May as Home Secretary because it was asserted that they unfairly targeted young black men notwithstanding the fact that in many areas especially London it was young black men who were most likely to be victims of knife attacks. The spate of such attacks in London appears not to be met by police in sufficient numbers to show that the situation is under control. Thus this latest innovation.  I will not repeat the caveats expressed in the link above but it is my strong belief that this so called initiative will fail in its intention and will truly further alienate young black men.  This time there will be good cause for the resentment that will surely follow and that will make the relationship between them and police even more fractious. It is another example of increasing the powers of police to control our society by suspicion rather than by evidence; a catch all associated more often with jurisdictions where acting according to law is an afterthought rather than a priority.  These orders are just another example of papering over the cracks caused by the slashing of resources since 2010.

KNIFE CRIME AGAIN

So..........here we go again just like clockwork..........a government promising to go down hard on those carrying  knives.  We`ve been here so often before that it appears to be a right of passage for newly installed ministers at Justice to proudly announce their latest attempt to make our streets safer although no one name is associated with this latest pronouncement.  

This was just one of previous attempts to deter and/or punish those caught on the streets.  For the numbers watchers reading this a comparison between last year`s and current figures might be of interest. The arguments, however, will not go away.  The Met Commissioner recently expressed his opinion that reduction in stop and search has hampered his force`s ability to take weapons off the streets.  Before the last Holyrood election in Scotland where the SNP won a majority Scottish Labour had promised prison for all knife carriers.  That proposed policy did not go down well with police in Scotland.  I would be surprised if south of the Wall opinions differ.

PAPERING OVER THE CRACKS

Chris Grayling and his cohort at Petty France just don`t stop with their press releases.  If the efficient manner in which they are propagated were typical of the efficient thinking of those behind their publication there would be cause for a modicum of cheer.  However even in this season of goodwill I find little about the latest offering that is anything more than a lot of hot air.

His main innovation is to add the “punishment” element he considers missing from a third of community sentences.  These consist of fine, unpaid work, curfew or exclusion from certain areas.  The Ministry of Justice website has the following to say about fines:-

“Fines are the most common sentence passed at court, accounting for around two-thirds of all sentences handed out by the criminal courts (66.5 per cent in the 12 months ending September 2012). The fine rate is consistent with that seen in the same period for the previous year, and has declined from a peak of 70.3 per cent in the 12 months ending September 2004. The decline has been due to a decline in prosecutions and subsequent conviction for summary motoring offences - the offence type for which fines are most commonly given. The latest figure of 816,600 fines represents a decrease of 5. 2 per cent compared to the 12 months ending September 2011, and the lowest number of fines handed out over the last 11 years.”

To quote from this blog on 21/11/2013:-

What an example of the spin doctor`s art of obfuscation by omission. The total amount of unpaid fines is estimated at £2 billion and rising. In addition over £130 million  annually is written off because the state cannot find or squeeze the cash from offenders. Perhaps the Secretary of State instead of pursuing his rehabilitation of offenders by results policy with the decimation of the probation service as a by product or playing hardball with G4S and SERCO he would be more profitably employed in root and branch investigation of the whole process of fines from imposition to collection or otherwise as the case may be.

As far as “unpaid work” which is arguably the most punishing of community requirements; with the probation service in turmoil over privatisation the resulting omnishambles of payment by results will render any increase in throughput a disaster. 

We have all read of the scandal of the outsourcing behemoths SERCO andG4S.  This blogger for one has no confidence that an increased workload can be any more efficient than currently is the case.  Exclusion Orders are a waste of time and an insult to intelligence.  All they are is a displacement order……NIMBYism  writ large and unpleasantly. 

For donkeys years various Justice Ministers have proclaimed they will be “tough on knife crime”.  It makes good headlines but bad law. This effort will be no different.

A government which is disguising the chaos in private prisons, ruining the probation service, decimating the police forces, throwing 10% of CPS lawyer on the scrap heap, admitting that its own crime statistics are almost fraudulent and generally causing despair amongst those with inside knowledge of what`s really  happening   deserves nothing but contempt for this latest attempt to paper over the cracks it has created under the cloak of austerity.

PUBLIC DISUNITY//WHY THERESA MAY MUST GO NOW

It seems to this distant observer that a form of mob rule is gradually taking over certain areas or our lives.  On a political level Big Chief Corbyn and his indian braves have asserted that one way to achieve power is by having a 1,000,000 protesters on the streets. This should not be a surprise.  That he is an avowed Marxist who has made no secret of his intentions is clear from this speech in 2012.  As is their historical profile those of similar philosophy have been involved (allegedly) when local groups have had and are having real concerns about decisions affecting their lives made by socially and politically distant often state connected organisations. The issues surrounding the Grenfell fire, genuine and perhaps criminal, are being used to undermine the fabric of the state and it is not unlikely that a few years down the line results of inquiries and prosecutions whatever the results  will be used as stick to beat all authorities however involved.

Actions of police are under the microscope of public opinion at a wholly different level. They used to be literally a law unto themselves. Not a week goes by when that attitude is revealed still to be motivating a not inconsiderable number of police officers. Last year 108 police officers were dismissed for misconduct. The bar for sacking is set very high.  Much of the Policing and Crime Bill`s sections on police discipline became law a few months ago in the corresponding Act.  The amount of criminality within the police is quite shocking for the layman to comprehend the Met Police being the cheerleader.

As a result of public policy by the Home Office led by a certain Mrs T. May police were instructed to reduce "stop & search" and the pursuit of those using vehicles to evade arrest or questioning.  The unintended consequences have been an unholy increase in knife crime and an explosion in criminals evading arrest by using mopeds as getaway vehicles. There is considerable controversy over the numbers within these topics. That controversy is both political and statistical in quantity and quality.

What is not in doubt is the increase in mob behaviour generally when disputed matters go public epitomised by the situation of the baby Charlie and that surrounding areas where permission has been granted for fracking. Decisions by legally authorised public bodies are being challenged by no less than mob rule.  There are many definitions of "mob" but they all have a similar underlying theme of the possibility of violence resulting; "a large or disorderly crowd; especially : one bent on riotous or destructive action". 

One essential requirement for a democratic society to exist or even flourish is the freedom to demonstrate on the streets of our towns and cities and where such peaceful protest is sanctioned by police. Such freedom to protest is itself never far from dispute eg the flying of the flags of a terrorist organisation recently in London where the police did not intervene on the basis that they considered that the non military part of the organisation was indicated on the flags.   

With Brexit negotiations in effect, a left wing take over of Labour in the offing, a Tory Party in disarray, little indication of large numbers of Muslims willing to adapt to a British society and to accept their minority status, pork barrel politics to bribe the DUP and Scots Nats still howling independance, reduced public confidence in our institutions bodes ill for a harmonious future.  All those however loosely described as The Establishment must react to the twitching antennae of public mores and do their utmost to unite where there is currently disunity. Such decisiveness must come from the top. Theresa May must go NOW.

SENTENCING NEEDS UPDATING

It goes almost without saying but I`ll say it anyway; sentencing structures in this country are (to be polite) in need of drastic changes to meet with the drastic changes in society and its mores and the knowledge we now have on the sciences concerned with human behaviour.  To add to the mix no government has been or will be willing to pay the £billions necessary to face the reality of what must be spent to halt the seemingly intractable problem of criminality and the measures required to protect society from such whether the criminality is on line fraud sometimes and sometimes not covered by insurance but where there is no physical harm or violence or gangs of rampaging youths with knives or guns in their hands as is now happening all over the country.  Into the mix there is one fact which needs to be faced; about 70% of all acquisitive crime including harm to victims or property is committed by those addicted to alcohol and/or prohibited drugs.  The definition of criminal offensiveness is now almost beyond parody. Religious tolerance to changes in human behaviour once common except in Northern Ireland is now at straining point especially in some parts of a Muslim population which will soon exceed three million.  The scourge of that oldest of all viruses which had been thought to have peaked in 1944 was only slumbering as recent events in Hungary, Sweden and within the Labour Party have shown. How to react to the above is not the sort of comment common to Lord Chancellors.  All they seem able to do is mouth platitudes about knife crime and good intentions. The only hardened opinions in this country seem to be to abolish all short (ie up to six months) custodial sentences or increase jail time for serious offending. My own view posted here a few times is that institutions should be created for the compulsory incarceration of all offending addicts until they are clean and ready for rehabilitation.  Use the search box on this page "workhouse" for lengthier argument.  Meanwhile an interesting but limited item on sentencing from New Zealand caught my attention.  Access it here. 

PLUS CA CHANGE ...................

We now have the 8th Lord Chancellor/ Justice Secretary since 2010. It doesn`t need advanced mathematics to appreciate that at that rate it is impossible for anyone however gifted to truly appreciate all the nuances of the job and to set the direction of travel without the combined resources of those who keep the wheels turning ie the department`s civil servants.  But the great British public really doesn`t care about "justice" until perhaps the summons appears in their letter box.  Al they know is the few brief lines in their local paper or what they read or hear on social media:- Twitter Law. With in depth reporting of criminal matters becoming more sparse week by week, headline criminality excepted, it is cases like this which form the concept of "justice" in the public mind.  Compared to many that report seems comprehensive but it leaves the impression of "soft" justice: perhaps that is justified.  There is nothing reported by the presiding magistrate which seems to justify the leniency dished out to this offender.  Taking this a step further it is this mindset which has increasingly driven sentencing to the highest levels of severity in a generation at a time when prison conditions are fast approaching a national disgrace, probation services have yet to recover from their decimation by the most incompetent of the previous seven Lord Chancellors  and increasing emphasis on so called victim-hood. The new boy at Petty France will, no doubt as all his predecessors have done, in due course issue a long statement of how knife crime will be a priority and criminals will receive their just deserts but all I can add is plus ça change plus c'est la meme chose.

WHEN GOVERNMENT LIES WE`RE DOOMED, WE`RE ALL DOOMED

For the last week many barristers have refused to undertake legally aided briefs at crown court.  They have been driven to this desperate action by the miserly rates of pay offered by the Ministry of Justice. I am not proposing to discuss the rights and wrongs of this action but to point out the lack of coverage in many? most? national media including TV. Indeed although most days I catch bits of Sky, BBC and Channel 4 news programmes the lack of reports appears suspiciously like news management from Petty France where the MOJ has since 2010 been conducting the emasculation of our once heralded justice system. It seems that no news is the watchword.  However in the week when the Home Secretary tries to assert that drastic falls in the numbers of police officers have no significance with regard to the increase in knife crime, a view which has been demonstrated doubtful to say the least, especially in London it is instructive to discover that this major department of state described by a former Home Secretary John Reid a decade ago as being "unfit for purpose"   lied to parliament and the public when Theresa May was in charge. In 2016 against many opposing views the government legislated that schools had to collect data on their pupils` nationality and country of birth.  Many groups and organisations and parents refused to co-operate. During this time the Home Office then under our current prime minister`s regime  made it clear that the information to be collected by the Dept of Education would not be passed to its (Home Office) control for immigration purposes but that it was needed to help pupils whose first language was not English. This was an out and out lie that was recently discovered under freedom of information legislation by Schools Week.

Such actions are a disgrace to what we still consider to be our democratic way of life. It gives credence to conspiracy theorists who would see the country under the control of Jews, Masons and all manner of beings bent on reinforcing those misguided individuals` irrationality and prejudices.  This is apparent now within the Labour Party where discussion once taboo is being repeated as fact; where it is acceptable to demonise groups; where scum like Nick Griffin a nazi apologist is intending to vote Labour. See tweet below.

When government is and is seen to be lying through its teeth the bells should be ringing out loud and clear that, as the late John Laurie of Dad`s Army fame was wont to put it; "We`re doomed, we`re all doomed". 

SOCIETAL BREAKDOWN//CONSERVATIVE "BLAH" OR OPPOSITION "RHUBARB"

 

Below is the main headline from today`s Times newspaper.  

It is apparent that the press office of the MOJ is gearing up for the forthcoming general election when the hacks therein employed will have to show they`re earning their salt by pushing the same propaganda they have employed for years past when their masters fear  their period of power is slipping ever more rapidly into the control of His Majesty`s Loyal Opposition.  All those involved in the criminal justice system know full well this is a ritual and like any ritual it is symbolic only.  Just as for Catholics the body of Christ offered by the priest is but a wafer the hang `em flog `em headline lacks substance and is but a modern variation of the rune or the entrails of a chicken to be interpreted in any which way it suits the reader. No doubt there will be further similar headlines ranging from abuse of the domestic kind to xenophobic outbursts on what must be done to stop the boats via increased punishments for knife crime and castration for sex offenders.  Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

We are now at the cusp of another football season.  And once again today`s Times provides the subject matter.  

There is little doubt in my opinion that the referees will follow the hard line of their paymasters.  Unlike those above, referees` emoluments and indeed their fitness to officiate will be judged  at almost the speed of light by those who pull the financial strings within professional football.  Whether or not football clubs` and police efficiency in identifying and prosecuting those supporters for whom the beautiful game is just an opportunity to cause havoc and mayhem will bring law `n order back to the terraces is another matter. The figures below for those hooligans who have been subjected to recent football banning orders do not offer high hopes that such disgusting behaviour will be any less in the forthcoming season as in the past.  

Of course when viewing the chart it must be remembered that in the wake of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, the Premier League suspended its 2019/20 season on 13 March and it wasn`t until 17 June that once again spectators attended.  Nevertheless an average of only 347 offenders were issued annually with a banning order over those five years.  Delving a little deeper into those numbers, considering that there were approximately 190 Premier League games played and many hundreds of cup and lower league professional matches between 1st January 2018 and 31st December 2022 the total of 1736 banning orders for the period is derisory. 

It takes more than statistics for historians to decide when a society has broken down.  Public disorder and its treatment or curtailment are one disturbing factor but combined with hidden and not so hidden police corruption the signs are there for all to see as is the failure of supervisory bodies in many professions and organisations.   But it is for government to act.  Over the next eighteen months we will find out if it is Conservative blah or Opposition rhubarb which wins the day. 

ONE COURT`S MEAT IS ANOTHER COURT`S POISON

Lawyers involved in criminal law have a lot to read.  Daily, thousands of cases are decided.  Whilst most are routine in the broadest sense of that word because for those involved be they witnesses of defendants they are anything but, there are always a few where there are lessons to be learnt or an exposed conflict between the letter of the law and its spirit.  For the interested  non lawyer only those cases which make the national or increasingly under reported local news media are attention worthy.  Occasionally this blogger considers them worth a few minutes of his and others` limited reading time.  

Perhaps the most interesting revelation of recent weeks is an insight into how woke our justice system has become.  The tendency for so called "diversity" to be upheld as the 11th commandment is to me of great concern.  It reveals a desire for superficial appearances in thought, mind, intention, opinion or deed to be of a uniform nature on pain of expulsion or to use the current terminology "cancellation". The individual who has expounded this "philosophy" is no less than the Master of the Rolls.  Whilst there is much to be improved with British judges and especially those at the top of the judicial tree such comments are in my humble opinion most unhelpful.  Perhaps judges` dining quarters (where I have in times past been a guest whilst sitting on appeals) should display a notice of topics to be outlawed.  Perhaps there should be microphones hidden under the dining tables to catch those robed figures in full flow over their Salade Niçoise.  

As if Bristol University has not self harmed over its years long refusal to sack antisemitic lecturer David Miller it is now faced with demands over its policy regarding the well being or otherwise of the students under its care.  Whilst not currently a matter for lawyers it might soon be.  The very sad case of  Natasha Abrahart must strike a chord with every parent with a student child.  I recollect that when as a parent amongst many others  I was in a lecture hall at Newcastle University where my son was considering enrolment listening to a professor telling us that the university could not discuss with parents any matters; educational or medical  affecting their children because they were over the age of 18 and their consent would be required.  Too many student suicides surely must force authorities to allow a middle ground of common sense to overcome rigidity of historic practices. 

The Home Office and its bosses are currently very newsworthy for an authority which is the epitome of all that is lawful in practice.  Nimbyism will forever be a trade off between local rights and political favouritism and a greater national interest. Nowhere is this more relevant than in the dispersal of illegal immigrants to hotels and accommodation in areas palpably unsuitable.  Perhaps a court will again have to overrule the wishes of this department of state.

Having personally been delayed on the M25 for over an hour by so called protesters I am pleased at this judicial ruling last week.  These misguided individuals are proto fascists seeking to impose upon so many others their supposed solution to a massive problem.  This ruling must be followed by others similar when required. 

Knife crime even when the weapon is brandished but not used must be punished by immediate custody has been the mantra of Lord Chancellors for a decade.  Oooops but the tidal wave of cases where "mental health" is an excuse seems to have infected the judiciary to see things differently.  In such matters I ask myself how did the generations of the last century survive such problems with a weary "get on with it " attitude but then perhaps I really am a dinosaur out of touch with current norms. 

Legal interpreters, translators and other language service providers have long been an essential part of the justice system. The ability to understand the case against you and to understand the process you are subject to, either as a plaintiff or defendant, is a vital part of the right to a fair trial and is guaranteed both by centuries-old common law and Articles 5 (right to liberty and security of person) and 6 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights.  Answering questions about this privatisation contract in the House of Lords on 9 July 2012, Lord McNally Minister of State for Justice stated that the courts receive ‘some 800 requests a day for such interpretation’. In an attempt to make savings  of up to a reported £12 million per year as well as to make the system more efficient, the MoJ entered a four-year framework agreement in August 2011 worth £168 million with a small private language service provider, Applied Language Solutions Ltd (ALS), to provide legal interpreting services potentially across the whole justice system (police, courts, prisons, etc.) A further five-year contract, under the framework agreement (‘agreement’), worth £90 million signed by the Ministry in October 2011 and took effect in January 2012 covering mainly the courts and tribunals, has courted much controversy. It has been the subject of two parliamentary select committee inquiries and a report which revealed the total inadequacy of the individuals responsible for approving the deal. Shortly afterwards ALS was sold to Capita the outsourcing firm for a large profit. Probably some time after the 30 year rule the shenanigans will be revealed. Meanwhile the consequences continue.  This is an example. 

I have at times castigated judiciary for saying too much and occasionally too little about the inadequacies of the judicial system at present.  At Swansea crown court HH Judge Geraint Walters spoke I`m sure for many of his colleagues when he raged at the CPS.  

It was the recommended practice in my day not to ban drivers in their absence and to do everything to secure their attendance at court.  The reason of course was obvious: no driver should be driving with a disqualification over his/her head about which s/he was unaware.  I wonder what efforts were made at Harrogate magistrates court to drag these offenders to court to hear their fate straight from the horse`s mouth? 

A round of strike action at magistrates courts under the auspices of the Public and Commercial Services Union led by far left boss Mark Serwotka ended on October 30th.  According to the union it has a mandate to take further action and reserves the right to call more strike action if necessary.  Considering the problems currently with magistrates courts` backlog one would hope that sense will prevail but of course one court`s meat is another court`s poison. 

MAGISTRATES ASSOCIATION REVEALS ITS WOKE APPROACH TO JUSTICE

The Kingdom of England can arguably be stated as having been founded in the last century of the first millennium perhaps a century after the founding of the northern part of the British Isles known as Scotland.  The 13th century saw the incorporation of Wales into the Kingdom of England. The Kingdom of Ireland was brought under English control between 1541 and 1691. A sixteenth century royal marriage led to the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and the Kingdom of Great Britain was created in 1707 leading to the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.  The establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 led to the current designation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927.  The underlying political sentiments of those involved particularly for the last 200 years have been that there is much more that unites us than divides us.  That is until the latter part of the last century.  Whether by benign neglect or the emergence of an anti colonialism mind set in Scotland and Ireland separatism as a target began to take hold in some philosophical/historical  minds and actions within both nations.  The modern tragedy of Irish nationalism is still with us and the Scots seem to be plunging deeper and deeper into a death wish of economic turbulence and possible collapse. So what has this to do with a blog written by a retired magistrate with an interest in justice and the law?  In the last few weeks the Magistrates Association has been following a singularly IMHO divisive line of its thinking as indicated by its Tweets. 

Magistrates Association

@MagsAssoc

 

·

11 Oct

It’s National Coming Out Day! Our LGBT+ Diversity and Inclusion Network provides a safe space for LGBT+ magistrates to discuss any issues which may affect them in court, as well champion equality and respect within the justice system

Magistrates Association

@MagsAssoc

 

·

#BlackHistoryMonth recommended reading: Influential Black Britons illustrated book (published by UK Parliament). This resource lists individuals who have impacted UK laws and equal rights. Olaudah Equiano, Mary Prince, Claudia Jones, Lord Learie Constantine, Bernie Grant… (2/20)

Magistrates Association

@MagsAssoc

11 Oct

It’s National Coming Out Day! Our LGBT+ Diversity and Inclusion Network provides a safe space for LGBT+ magistrates to discuss any issues which may affect them in court, as well champion equality and respect within the justice system. Find out more at - https://magistrates-association.org.uk/What-We-Do/MA-

Magistrates Association

@MagsAssoc

 

·

2 Aug

Over on the

@JudiciaryUK

Instagram, Dan, our trustee and deputy chair of our LGBT+ Special Interest Group, talks about the importance of having a diverse magistracy and some of the transferable skills magistrates gain that can be so valuable to employers.

Magistrates Association

@MagsAssoc

 

·

27 Jul

Knife crime is a serious problem but there is no robust evidence that stop and search is the answer, while it could further damage the trust and confidence that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities have in the justice system.

Magistrates Association

@MagsAssoc

 

·

16 Jul

The MA’s disproportionality presentation provides information about the disproportionate over-representation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people in the youth justice system, and what magistrates can do to address this in and out of the courtroom.

Magistrates Association

@MagsAssoc

 

·

16 Jul

It is encouraging that 18% of new magistrates are under 40, though there is still work to be done to attract more volunteers from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

Magistrates Association

@MagsAssoc

 

·

14 Jul

‘Must-Listen-To’ Claxon: Hear MA board member & chair of our Young Magistrates Group,

@lukerigg

, talk on

@BBCRadio4

#FourThought about what it’s like to be a young magistrate, and why having more will improve justice. Luke you were excellent

Magistrates Association

@MagsAssoc

 

·

9 Jul

Modelling for raising the retirement age to 75 projected that there will be 0.8% fewer BAME magistrates in any given year than at present. The MA has called for this impact on diversity to be mitigated by recruitment specifically targeting under-represented groups.

Magistrates Association

@MagsAssoc

 

·

29 Jun

'There is certainly no such thing as your stereotypical magistrate'.

Some retweets..

Magistrates Association Retweeted

 

Mawia Bin-Sufyan MStJ BCA

@MoawiaBinSufyan

 

·

19 Jun

Joining colleagues from across the UK for the

@MagsAssoc

inaugural meeting of the Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Special Interest Group. Speakers included the MA Chair

@BevHiggs

and new CEO @TomFranklinUK

Dan, MA trustee and deputy chair of our LGBT+ Special Interest Group, speaks to

@JudiciaryUK

as part of #PrideMonth

 

What those tweets indicate to me is that the Magistrates Association following the many examples of woke inspired separatism is functioning in the mistaken belief that representation of all manor of variations in the make up of society provides a better quality of justice for all those who come to court. In simple terms the so called life truths of a bench are more likely to  provide outcomes which suit the individual`s circumstances than the intellectual challenge of weighing up evidence so that the facts of a case are teased from all that the court must consider in coming to its conclusion. The practices of the M.A. in having sub committees for some of the very varied groupings in our society is inimitable to the cohesion which binds together those very same groupings. Undue emphasis on "diversity" risks a mockery of the judicial oath; “I, ______ , do swear by Almighty God that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth the Second in the office of ______ ,
and I will do I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of this Realm, without fear or favour , affection or ill-will." [my bold]. There will be those who will retort that it takes eg a "life truth" of living as an impoverished or racially abused member of a minority group to understand and appreciate circumstances of any offender`s particular actions but from my experience much thinking along those lines is in direct contradiction of the last eight words of the oath above. The continued emphasis on recruitment to supposedly represent society does no favour for selecting the best people to be sitting in judgement on their fellow citizens. For example in Bradford where the ethnic composition is that the largest religious group  is Christian (45.9% of the population) and nearly one quarter of the population (24.7%) is Muslim is that to be the target by the advisory committee charged with appointment of magistrates? 20.7% of Bradford citizens self declare that they do not follow a religion. Are they too to be represented on the Bench in that proportion?


When I was appointed in 1997 a question on the application form was for the applicant to state which political party benefited from his/her vote at the previous general election. I left it unanswered. In due course I received a letter enclosing my application telling me that unless I resubmitted the form with every question answered my application would not be considered. I duly filled in the name of the political party for which I had voted. That question was omitted from the form a few years later. The powers that be no longer want to know who their applicants vote for but now do want to know so much more about the essence of their very being.


All this might be considered under the term "woke or not woke". When universities and many institutions are afraid to issue firm declarations to students and others who foster hate at those whose opinions they oppose, who ignore antisemitism propagated at all levels of our society in the guise of "anti Zionism" there is a fear pervading many to whom society has bestowed influence that speaking out about any topic which questions current societal  mores is a career and/or reputation breaker. In simple terms it`s called self censorship. When fear is the basis of the way we conduct our daily lives proto fascism is appearing over the political horizon. Unfortunately the Magistrates Association is slowly but surely being dragged into this cultural morass.