Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here today for two particular reasons. First, I have a good connection with the NorthWest in my role as Street Crime Minister. I was greatly impressed, by the way, at the co-operation of the Magistrates and Magistrates' Courts in this important initiative. Second, I am conscious that all of you have given up a weekend to be here. That is symptomatic of the commitment of Magistrates to the Justice System, and I thank you all for it.
You all know better than I that the magistracy are the backbone on which our criminal justice system is built. Far and away the majority of criminal cases pass through the Magistrates' Courts, and I do not forget the important note that you play in family justice.
The quality and commitment of Magistrates is very high. We need to keep it that way. The work, whilst it has its frustrations, is very worthwhile. And there isn't a Magistrate who I've met since becoming Secretary of State who does not think so. The Magistrates' Court is vital in demonstrating to the community the virtues of the criminal justice system. Those virtues are threefold:
That it is fair - to the defendant but also to victims and to witnesses. People's views of the justice system are based on their own personal experience of the courts - or of their friends and family - and the experience of a witness or a victim is very important in keeping a good public perception of, and confidence in, the justice system.
It has to be effective in dealing with the problems before it. People must see that the justice system is good at what it does. Too often people's experience of the court system is frustrating. There is nothing worse than turning up promptly at 10 for a court hearing to find the case delayed - perhaps without explanation - until, at 11.45, after the 25th cup of coffee finding yourself desperate to see any kind of justice done - to anyone! These are real frustrations, which I think you share. We must accept that there is a responsibility on every player in the criminal justice system to make that system run smoothly. That is why we are setting up local Criminal Justice Boards - on which Magistrates' Courts are vital players. You, as members of Benches, have the ability when you see a part of the system failing to say 'this is not satisfactory'. It may be that cases are delayed because the police, the CPS, the probation reports are not ready. You can raise your voices if you do not see efficiency and effectiveness in your criminal justice system partners.
The Magistrates' Courts must be seen to understand the community which it serves. There must be a real connection with the community whose crimes and whose family issues you deal. Your communities want to be confident that you know what the problems are. I think that the public doesn't necessarily expect courts to be brutal but they do want to know that the courts understand their local problems and are acting effectively.
So, these three principles: fairness, effectiveness and understanding have to be reflected in everything that we do.
Talent is high - and we must keep it that way. It is reassuring to see that people still place a high value on becoming Magistrates and are keen to underline themselves in local justice. Last year 4,753 people applied to become Magistrates and 1,410 were subsequently appointed.
However, getting people to apply isn't the main problem. If we truly want a magistracy that understands the community, we need a magistracy that reflects the whole community.
We have a continuing problem reaching younger applicants, blue-collar workers, the self-employed and those from minority ethnic communities. Last year less than 700 of the 4,753 applicants were from the under 40 age group and only 447 applications were from minority ethnic candidates.
We launched last week a national strategy for recruitment. This strategy will re-examine our approach to recruitment of people from ethnic minorities. We have made a good start with the Magistrates shadowing scheme which aims to encourage more people from ethnic minorities to learn about life as a Magistrate. The project, run by Operation Black Vote, with support from my Department was piloted in seven areas, with 47 individuals shadowing 94 Magistrates.
This programme has proved so popular that 21 Regions applied for entry into Phase 2.
One of those entrants is, I am glad to say, your neighbours from Lancashire MCC, which covers, amongst others, Burnley, Reedley and Rawtenstall Courts. This area was selected for a number of reasons:
Because it has a large population drawn from BME groups living in a mix of urban and rural areas;
It's recent history of public disorder in which racial intolerance appears to have played a significant role;
And the fact that, as the MCC pointed out, Asian and White communities are living separate and parallel lives and need to build bridges so they can learn to live together. The Magistrates' Courts is vital in demonstrating how these inter-community problems need to be dealt with.
Clearly, the Shadowing Scheme is not a panacea for all of the local communities' problems, but it is a stepping stone that will help to build confidence amongst BME groups in the local criminal justice system. For example, participants in the scheme act as ambassadors for the lay magistracy within their communities; and the journals they keep, which are posted on the OBV website, illustrate how successful the scheme has been so far. One participant wrote:
"This will have a major influence for those people who are involved in the process, a lot of knowledge and experience can be shared and a positive picture portrayed within the Black and Asian community."
And another person, speaking about a radio interview he gave, about the Scheme, said:
"My main point was that no only would it enable us to get a realistic assessment of what it would require to work as a Magistrate, and take the message out into the community, but also that it would give Magistrates the chance to get a sense of how ethnic minority populations perceive them."
And alongside the obvious benefits to the participants and their communities, another consistent theme emerges from the journals: the really positive way in which the magistracy has engaged in the scheme. Again and again, Magistrates that are being shadowed were described as friendly, helpful, encouraging and committed.
Whilst the Shadowing Scheme is aimed at those over 25, the Magistrates' Court Mock Trial Competition is raising the profile of the magistracy amongst secondary school students. Now in its 10th successful year the Competition is a unique opportunity for 12-14 year olds to learn about the legal system by participating in a carefully constructed simulation of a criminal case. Teams of students compete against each other at Magistrates' Courts by taking on the roles of lawyers, witnesses, magistrates, court staff and defendants.
The competition is run by the Citizenship Foundation, with support from my Department and has been designed to fit in with the New Curriculum subject, "Citizenship Studies". This year the Competition involved around 4,500 students from 350 schools across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Every year over 800 Magistrates and other legal professionals participate in the Competition. For which I am very grateful. The National Field was held at Leeds Magistrates' Court on 5 July 2003. The Rivington and Blackrod High School, Bolton ably represented Greater Manchester. But after a hard fought Competition the Assumption Grammar School from County Down in Northern Ireland became the 2003 national champions.
I am very keen that this key part of the recruitment strategy is seen to receive the appropriate level of support particularly from amongst the magisterial community. And I believe that it does have that level of support. As with open days, the use of Magistrates' Courts for the Competition can result in additional costs being incurred for security or other staff being present. I very much hope that MCC's will cover this cost rather than to seek reimbursement from the organisers, because it is another effective way that we can get the message across about the importance of the justice system.
Having said that, I would like to thank those of you who have given their time so generously to help with the judging and administration of the Competition, particularly at regional level where some of you have acted as mentors for students at local schools. It is yet another example for the excellent work you do - so often beyond your other commitments - to the great benefit of your communities.
We have also taken other affirmative action to kick-start the strategy. The Home Office's Active Community Unit has been contacted to develop a joint approach to encourage under-represented groups and younger people to engage with the criminal justice system by applying to become Magistrates. We have also, importantly, reached an agreement with the Independent Monitoring Boards (which used to be known as the Board of Prison Visitors) that will see unsuccessful applicants for the magistracy being recommended to them as potential visitors. In return, experienced visitors leaving their service will be encouraged to apply to become Magistrates.
This strategy is designed to give Advisory Committees the tools to establish a diverse bench. To help you achieve this we have been reviewing the manner in which we assess the social equilibrium of the bench. We will be focussing on the recruitment of younger people and particularly those in employment. At present 80% of the magistracy is aged over 50. Looking round the room today, though, you all appear to be in your 20's and 30's so perhaps this area is a rare exception.
Employers need to play their part by agreeing to release staff who wish to serve as Magistrates. But how can they be convinced that it is good for their business to do so? Businesses must be persuaded to change their conventional outlook on their investment in the local community. There are other benefits beyond simple commercial concerns to be gained by giving business focus a social perspective. Benefits such as achieving a higher public profile from supporting the local criminal justice system. Or from the development of employee's individual competencies, such as teamwork, communication skills, diversity awareness and decision making. All these skills are gained during training as a Magistrate and they are transferable to the workplace. It is hard to believe that any business would not benefit from this.
I am pleased to say that many leading businesses already support our aims. For example, British Airways state that many of their staff have embraced their corporate value to be a 'good neighbour' by becoming Magistrates. And the airline has acknowledged "the positive impact that such stimulating voluntary activity has on morale." Boots, British Telecom, Tesco and Marks & Spencer have made similar statements. But I think our aspirations are summed up neatly by Vauxhall, who have said "We have always believed in the importance of being a good corporate citizen, helping to improve our local communities. Magistrates play a key role in the delivery of thriving, safer communities. By supporting an employee becoming involved in this way there is a benefit for all. For our employees this means developing new skills, and levels of understanding; for the company we reap the benefits of their wider experience, as well as cementing our position at the heart of the community." All the companies cited are big. There is, though, a problem beyond small and medium - sized employers who face with less equilibrium the prospect of the loss of an employee who might be key to the business. We do need to work more flexibly to tackle the burden of release and scheduling for this to be overcome.
The strategy will incorporate a re-evaluation of the community relations and educational initiatives of the benches with the intention of better informing the public of their work. This will also raise awareness of the benefits of joining the magistracy. Additionally, it will institute a review of the ways in which the terms and conditions of service of a magistrate might be made more attractive and manageable. For example, by re-examining how financial low allowances are dealt with and by working with courts to establish more flexible sitting patterns.
Central to achieving our objectives is the development of a joined up approach to managing the whole strategy with our stakeholders, including the Magistrates' Association, who you will hear from shortly, the Magistrates' Courts Committees, Advisory Committees, and the Duchy of Lancaster's Office. This will become particularly important as other programmes aimed at improving the effectiveness of the criminal justice system begin to take effect.
I am thinking in particular of the Criminal Justice Bill, which you will be discussing later, which will introduce extended sentencing powers for Magistrates, and the "Narrowing the Justice Gap" initiative where the Government has set a target of bringing a further 1.2 million offences to justice by 2005-06. Together these proposals will significantly increase workload in both the Magistrates' Court and the Crown Court. To ensure that Magistrates' Courts can deliver the target for offences brought to justice we will need to recruit an estimated 3,000 new Magistrates between 2003-2006.
Clearly, without this new integrated recruitment strategy, which will be the catalyst that enables us to develop changes to the way in which we advance our recruitment and retention policies, we will struggle to attract sufficient suitable candidates to the magistracy. As I said, we will not reduce quality, that is why we have invested in an effective recruitment strategy. So, in conclusion, the strategy will consolidate, on a national scale, best recruitment practice from the regions. It will, for example, extend the reach of initiatives currently undertaken by local Advisory Committees to target under-represented groups. In doing so, it will build on the encouraging recruitment trends that have emerged over recent years. In 2002/2003, for example, the proportion of new appointments drawn from ethnic minority communities rose to 8.2% - up from, 6.5% in 1997, and only 5% in 1994. We have a long way to go, but I am sure that together we can make the recruitment strategy a success.
Could I conclude by saying that I have all my life worked in the law. Always the Magistrates' Courts have been the spine and the filter of the justice system, and its measure.
My experience is that we have a cadre of men and women who uphold the values of the magistracy and who are determined to make it work more effectively because they share the same frustrations that I have spoken about today. We have to work together to ensure that the public can be confident that we continue to have the best magistrates system in the world.