Working with the community

Alternatively, contact MIC Requests at the Magistrates Association. Someone will respond as soon as possible to put you in touch with a magistrate in your area...

In our early days, the magistracy did not seem to be a 'hot' topic for community groups and we were grateful for the desperate last minute request to fill a gap in their calendars - the "speaker of last resort" slot!. We must have got something right, because we now send a steady stream of presenters to talk to community groups and are booked a year ahead. We tailor these talks to topical issues such as "Prison or Probation" and give them a sentencing case to illustrate the choices benches face. Another time we might replicate a Narey court. Some of the Univeristy of the Third Age groups now ask for their parts to be sent to them in advance so their actors can prepare their performances - great fun for us and them.

The scope of MIC activity is really only constrained by our time and the availability of our volunteers. We have a core of 'seasoned' presenters but as we take on more work, it is important that we train new presenters and encourage them to take on bigger roles until they are ready to lead a presentation. To this end, we are planning to organise some professional training for all our MIC team .