A MAGISTRATE discussed what he called a 'mentally stimulating' role as a campaign was launched to encourage more people to volunteer.

The Judiciary of England and Wales and the Ministry of Justice launched a campaign encouraging people from all backgrounds to become magistrates.

Sean Harvey, 44, is a primary school teacher at Belsay Primary School and volunteered as a magistrate 15 years ago.

Sean, who lives in Bingfield near Corbridge, was one of the youngest magistrates ever taken on at the time in North Tyneside and started his magistracy at North Tyneside courts.

He said those from ethnic minorities, the LGBT community and different backgrounds should volunteer.

"You have to have a cross-section of magistrates who represent your society. Being a gay man, I come to the magistracy with a different flavour, and I came from a very poor family from North Shields. I can really understand what it's like for families to have poverty in their lives.

"I would encourage younger people to apply to join the magistracy, we need a lot more younger people from a cross-section of society. I would advise people from all industries to think about it."

Ministry of Justice data on the diversity of the current magistracy in Northumbria over the last five years shows an increase in magistrates from underrepresented groups, including people under 50 (currently 17 per cent of the local judiciary), and people from an ethnic minority background (4 per cent).

"It is a very thorough and rigorous process, probably harder than any interview I've had in my career, but it should be a robust process because you are given great responsibility which you have to use with great caution. 

"I was surprised to get through, the interview is quite daunting. You can do many things to people - you can put them in prison and put restrictions on their liberty, so it should be a gruelling process."

No legal qualifications, degree, or experience is required. Volunteers are given thorough training plus ongoing support to make decisions on cases in criminal or family court. Magistrates work closely in groups of three with a legal advisor, who offers guidance on the law.

Sean said one of the things he enjoys most about being a magistrate is the role's social value.

"We all have that moral compass and we should encourage people to do voluntary work. I was encouraged many years ago to do this, but never thought about joining the magistracy until I sat in a courtroom and got the taste for it." 

Sean also said 'it gives a different dimension' to his job as a teacher.

"The things I do as a magistrate enhance my day job as a teacher. The skills I use as a teacher I also bring into the magistracy like teamwork and thinking skills.

"I enjoy the great responsibility you have. How you use that responsibility is really important and should be used with great care and attention.

"We have to think about the people who appear in court, I see many that are from very poor backgrounds who had a very poor education. Many can't read and write when they leave school. I think it's important you have an understanding of the difficulties some of these people face in their communities.

"One of the biggest things at the moment is mental health. As a magistrate, we need to be really careful of how we deal with people with mental health issues.

"Predominantly, many of the people entering our criminal justice system now can't read or write, but many of them suffer from mental health problems and our justice system is starting to fill up with people who need careful managing. 

"Should these people really be in the criminal justice system, do we need to do something in society to encourage mental health services to be improved, because we're seeing a lot of people coming through our court systems that maybe shouldn't be there, because of the nature of their illness," Sean said.

"I deal with a wide range of crime, every single crime in England and Wales starts in a magistrates' court first. You get a flavour of everything coming through your court, so if you're looking for variety and lots of things which will keep you mentally stimulated, it's a really good thing to go into."

Sean suggested visiting a courtroom for those considering the magistracy to give them an idea of what's involved.

"Anybody can go in and sit in the back of a courtroom. If you're interested, I would encourage people to go along and watch what happens for the day. The magistrates on the bench are normal people, they're very approachable and they will talk to people who are interested."

Anyone aged between 18 and 70 who can commit to at least 13 days a year for at least five years is encouraged to apply.

Magistracy applications are open in Northumberland. For more information, go to icanbeamagistrate.co.uk.