A new guide has been published by a magistrates’ court observation project to help others set up similar schemes.

CourtWatch London first reported on its volunteers’ findings earlier this year. Some 82 trained volunteers observed Highbury Corner (pictured above), Thames and Croydon magistrates’ courts. Volunteers were encouraged to attend a mix of hearings and make notes on their observations.

The short guide is split into three key sections -  volunteers, data and the court system. It is hoped that it will help other communities, organisations and individuals begin their own courtwatching projects in their local areas.

The ‘incredibly rich dataset’ collected from volunteers who took part in CourtWatch London was used to create three reports: on how young adults are treated in the magistrates’ court; court transparency; and how defendants are treated. The project aims to make recommendations on how to improve access to justice.

Fionnula Ratcliffe, research and policy lead at Transform Justice, co-authored the guide. She said: ‘We were blown away by how many people were keen to courtwatch for us. The public is clearly ready, willing and able to help make our court system fairer and more just. With a little bit of training, public volunteers were able to gather more and better evidence of what’s (not) working in our courts than we ever could alone. We hope this guide will help anyone working for change in the justice system to consider courtwatching as a vital tool in their arsenal.’

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She added: ‘The more different groups that can make use of this guide and go into court and observe what is happening, the better. I think it would be really valuable to have courtwatching of people that come from different perspectives and different motivations.’

A CourtWatch London volunteer said the best thing about being part of the project was ‘the opportunity to exercise my right of public access to the courts and be able to listen to and scrutinise the proceedings in a range of cases’.

The report acknowledged courtwatching in the US is a ‘growing phenomenon’. It added: ‘Community observations have generated evidence to challenge unfair behaviour from judges and achieve changes to unjust and discriminatory laws.

‘By being present in court and documenting what happens, courtwatchers highlight the failings in our justice system so we can make our courts fairer, more open and more just.’

 

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