A day in the life of a magistrate

If you fancy being a magistrate you have until 6 November 2009 to apply

Ever wanted to be a JP but didn't think you were 'well to do' or had the right connections?

Well, recruiting magistrates on who they know and their social standing is a thing of the past says a JP who sits on the Fylde Coast bench.

"It's what you know not who you know and what you can bring to the bench," says Frank Shipway JP.

As Lancashire Magistrates Advisory Committee look for new recruits, we find out what life is really like as a JP.

Frank describes a typical day in court and gives his verdict on being a modern day magistrate...

"When I was a young boy I remember standing outside my junior school with my mother looking at the school noticeboard. After the headteacher's name was BSc and JP.

I asked my mother what they meant. She replied: "BSc means he has a degree and if you work hard at school and go to university you could get one of those."

I then enquired about the JP. "It stands for Justice of the Peace and means he is a magistrate but that's not for people like us."

Well, concerning university - I didn't - but as for the second, some 32 years later I was proud to be sworn in as a member of the then Wyre bench.

Embraces

Frank Shipway JP says magistrates can even have a sense of humour

My mother, of course, was basing her comment on the way magistrates had historically been recruited when it was largely who you were in society or who you knew.

The magistracy of today embraces people from all walks of life who are appointed in an open and transparent way, on the basis not of who they are but on what they can bring to the bench. Of little or no consequence is a person's origins or occupation.

What candidates have to demonstrate is a number of qualities which include among others sound judgement, the ability to weigh arguments, a genuine social awareness and the ability to work as a member of a team. Legal knowledge is not important and training deals comprehensively with powers and procedures.

So what can a candidate duly appointed, trained and sworn in expect to find on arriving at court? In short, anything and everything from someone who hasn't paid their parking fines to the most serious of offences. Murder, arson and rape all start off in the magistrates' court but are very quickly transferred to crown court.

One morning, for instance, we dealt with a person receiving stolen property (namely a conservatory), a defendant charged with an assault on a partner, who then went on to murder her, and a person urinating in a public place all in the space of an hour and a half!

Decisions taken in the course of a typical day may well involve whether to allow bail to a defendant denying an offence or to remand in custody or removing a child from their parents in the family court.

FACTFILE Magistrates require no academic qualifications and all necessary training is given on appointment They deal with 95% of all criminal offences There are three magistrates including one who has been trained to take the chair and speak on behalf of the bench. The other two are referred to as wingers. All have equal decision making responsibility

Depriving someone of their liberty for a period of six months or taking children out of the family home are difficult yet frequent issues on which magistrates are called to adjudicate.

The bench also investigates applications for search warrants where offences are suspected before warrants for arrest are granted.

'Norman Stanley Fletchers'

What kind of people do I see in the dock? Anyone and everyone! From the person with a blameless life who has made a mistake to the "Norman Stanley Fletchers" of this world whose life is typified by criminality; they all appear before magistrates in the courts of the county day in day out.

Magistrates will tell you that in a perverse way they enjoy their role as a genuine expression of community service. It can be immensely satisfying in knowing that you have done right by a victim or by society's expectations and there is also room for some humour.

Courts are public buildings and members of the public have the right to observe proceedings (with certain exceptions). There is no better way to find out how magistrates operate than to go and spend a morning, or longer, in your local magistrates' court. Anyone who has been will tell you what a fascinating experience it is - it is your right, so why not exercise it?"

• Fancy being a JP? Lancashire Magistrates Advisory Committee is recruiting now for 2010. The closing date for applications is 6 November 2009.

Applications packs are available from Mr Andrew Pogson Deputy Secretary, The Sessions House, Lancaster Road, Preston, PR1 2PD. Telephone [phone] or email [e-mail] or visit www.direct.gov.uk/magistrates.