First and foremost, it was as a magistrate where the failings could best be witnessed. Take as a single example the fact that Pre Sentencing Reports were compiled by the Probation Service for the more serious offences. This was clearly as an aid to sentencing and generally took over three weeks although shortened versions were occasionally possible.
NOT ONCE in all my years on The Bench did a PSR recommend custody! It was policy from on high.
This meant that PSRs did not consider a full range of sentences and were therefore of extremely limited value. Furthermore, you could not merely request them when desired but it became obligatory - even though the rules stated otherwise.
The Chief Clerk To The Justices told me emphatically that 'If a custodial sentence was inevitable - reports were NOT needed.'
I quoted him on this matter ad nauseam over the years but no clerk (Legal Adviser) would permit this route.
Virtually all reports were compiled with the offenders' interests at the heart of the matter. The interests of society were a 'bolt on afterthought'.
Indeed, the vast majority of reports I saw could just as easily have come from the pen of the defence solicitor!
