Sheriff article - M Dennis

A MAN with a sword was found in Hemel Hempstead magistrates’ court when the building was full of students from local schools.
But the man’s presence was not a cause for alarm. He was the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, Mr Howard Guard, whose ceremonial visit to the court was deliberately timed to coincide with a schools’ open day.
Mr Guard is the current, unpaid holder of a role which dates back to the seventeenth century. Each county in England has a Sherrif and their duties originally included providing protection for Justices of the Peace.
Thankfully, there was no need to protect the magistrates on this occasion as Year 10 students from Longdean School and Tring School took part in mock trials and discussed aspects of the justice system.

The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, Mr Howard Guard, is watched by children from Tring School as he plays the role of a prosecution solicitor in a mock trial at Hemel Hempstead magistrates’ court. Photograph (c) Mick Dennis 2007

He joined in the mock trials, acting the part of a prosecution solicitor, and broke away from the prepared script to add some comments of his own. He explained that his mission for his year in office was to help increase social cohesion and added: “We are all part of society and those people who commit criminal offences, and end up in our courts, are letting down and damaging the rest of that society.”
Several magistrates gave up their time to help in the mock trials and discussions as part of the Magistrates in the Community scheme which is designed to increase public awareness of the work of the courts. The West Herts magistrates, who sit in Hemel Hempstead and Watford, recently won an award for the best Magistrates in the Community scheme in the country.

Mr Guard was dressed in a uniform for a very different court – the frock coat, britches and sword which county Sherrifs wear when invited to attend the Royal Court to meet the Queen.