What we did
The GH&I Team were led by David Fraser, Sheriffdom Business Manager, who was supported by Lora Crabtree, Project Manager and Kay Polson, Sheriffdom Legal Adviser. It was the Sheriff Clerks, Fiona Hendry, Sheriff Clerk Aberdeen, Audrey Bayliss, Sheriff Clerk Inverness, Mike McBey, Sheriff Clerk Dingwall, Frances MacPherson, Sheriff Clerk Elgin, Richard Cantwell, Sheriff Clerk Peterhead, Andy Hempseed Sheriff Clerk Stonehaven who made the transformation a reality at court level and from 14 January 2008 Brian Carroll (Temp) Assistant Sheriffdom Business Manager and Iain McIntosh Fines Enforcement Manager, also joined the team who ensured the implementation was as pain free as possible. In the immediate run up to Unification on 2 June 2008 support was also received from the central team, Personnel and IT units.
The intensity of effort was great to ensure that every angle was covered and the Sheriff Clerk Unification meetings (SCUM) took place every 6 to 8 weeks. These meetings were the foundation for driving everything that happened within the Sheriffdom in the run up to Unification in GH&I on 2 June 2008. Communication with everyone involved and detailed scoping of data and information from the District Courts was also key to a successful Unification.
The Sheriff Clerks Unification Meetings were underpinned by local Court User/Advisory and Liaison Committees. These groups brought together representatives of SCS, the GH&I Unification team, the Central Unification team, COPFS, District Court Managers, as well as representatives from both Northern and Grampian Constabularies. These Groups had to be replicated in the Grampian and Highland & Islands areas, because all in all there were 5 different councils to communicate with, 3 in Grampian and 2 in Highland & Islands.
These forums and this structure provided the key mechanism and platform from which 2 way communication links between SCS and all stakeholders and justice partners could be launched, consolidated and improved as the Unification process moved forward at an ever increasing pace. Links were also made with both the Northern and Grampian Constabularies Central Ticket Offices and their Safety Camera Partnerships, these links being cemented through the fact that SCS are now included in both Camera Partnerships Service Level Agreements with Service Level Agreements also being entered into with both Central Ticket Offices on the provision and quality of information sent and received through the IT link between them and SCS.
These forums kept Justice Partners and other key stakeholders engaged at each stage of the process and up-to-date on what had been achieved and what milestones lay ahead so everyone was able to play their part.
Visits were made to each and every District Court within GH&I to not only scope the work within these courts but to make contact with and build relationships and communication links with all the district court staff including the District Court Managers. This was no mean undertaking because the GH&I area covers an area the size of Belgium and stretches from Stornoway in the West to Aberdeen in the east and from Lerwick in the North to Fort William in the South.
Operational and contingency plans were developed, the operational plan being the expected picture of how GH&I would look as from 2 June 2008. Part of the Unification process was to produce and publish a consultation document on the Operational plan. This was issued to Justice Partners, stakeholders, the TUS and the Public in June 07 and they had until September 07 to respond to the document. Responses were collated and answered and a further report prepared for the Project Board in Nov 07 Submissions were then made to the Justice Minister who approved the Operational plan in Feb 08
This operational plan did not affect the courts at Kirkwall, Lerwick and Lochmaddy due to the fact that in these Local Authority areas no District Courts had been established, but SJR has impacted on them in many of the same ways that it has impacted on all other courts within GH&I
Kay Polson, the Sheriffdom Legal Adviser for GH&I took up post in June 2007 and subsequently established a first class team of Legal Advisers that cover JP Courts from Stornoway to Aberdeen and from Wick to Fort William, delivering a high quality lay justice court service throughout GH&I