Broadmeadows Magistrates Court - Essay Example

Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court Name Date Course Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court Introduction The placement period is significant in terms of gaining knowledge and skills of the operations within the court (Huisman, 2013). Frequent interactions with the clients and court officials are common during the period. The knowledge gained depends on the communication skills and the level of interactions with the clients and court officials. This report is about my placement period at Broadmeadows Magistrates’ court. It is an analysis of the events and operations of the court and my reflection of the placement period. Organization History The court was formed under section 4 of the Magistrate Courts Act 1989. This was mainly aimed at promoting the justice system among the Aboriginals and the entire population. The court addresses the issues of family violence, drugs and the neighborhood. The history of the court dates back to 1836 when Mr. J Simpsons was appointed as arbitrator to preside over disputes. The court at the time was referred to as the court of Petty Sessions. Later the police magistrates were appointed and the title was changed to Stipendry Magistrate. The court was later named as the magistrates’ court in the late twentieth century (Council, 2010). Mandate The court is mandated with the impartial administration of case by case justice in its area of jurisdiction. The delivery of high quality registry system is also a significant mandate of the court. The court is mandated with the responsibility of creating a strong awareness of the judicial system among the members of the community. It also handles traffic offences, civil cases, family cases and criminal cases. The five principles of sentencing are usually applied at all times by the court. The theory of hope recognizes that the people are usually in a state of despair when they are encountered by social issues. The court therefore has the mandate of restoring hope among the people by delivering justice. Organizational goals The Broadmeadows magistrate court aims at using innovative ways to communicate with the members of the public when delivering justice. It intends to ensure that justice is upheld in the community through fair trials and judgments. According to the Maslow’s hierarchical theory, the people need to feel respected, safe, loved and have esteem for the purposes of developing their goals and objectives in the society (Gao, 2013). The Broadmeadows considers those factors in its organizational goals. Organizational Structure The chief magistrates' occupies the highest position in the court. This is followed by the other senior magistrates. The chief registrar of the court is also a high ranking official and is in charge of the operations of the court. Court supervisors occupy the next rank and they are in charge of supervising the activities and operations of the court. The court registrars are in the next level of hierarchy of the court after the court supervisors. Size and number of personnel The court has five magistrates and twenty registry staff. This is for the purposes of ensuring that all the cases are solved within the shortest time possible. On the other hand, the court also has temporary members of staff and staff members who are associated with the support programs. Recruiting practices The Broadmeadows magistrates’ court is an equal opportunity employer. The vacancies available are usually advertised in the website of the court and the justice websites. The HOBAN recruitment company is usually involved in most cases during the recruitment process. The shortlisted candidates are then invited for an interview which could be simulated or own. Three senior magistrates are usually involved during the interviewing of the candidates. After the interview, the candidates who are qualified are put on a waiting list as they await the official confirmation before taking up the employment opportunity. The use of technology has played an important role in terms of increasing the efficiency of the recruitment process. Organizational policies The employees of the court must adhere to the code of conduct for Victorian public sector employees (No 1) 2007. The occupational health and safety policies must also be followed by the employees for the purposes of maintaining good health. On the other hand, the dressing code is official for the employees and should also be adhered to. The court also has policies with regards to the sharing of information with other agencies that are involved in different court cases. The privacy principles are regarded highly and should be upheld by all the employees at all times. Organizational values, confidentiality, privacy and ethical behaviors The organizational values of the court are in line with the magistrates’ court client service charter. The court values trust, integrity, professionalism and fairness. The client and court information should also be subjected to the highest level of confidentiality. Privacy is also a value that is promoted within the organization. The principles of ethics are also applicable and should be upheld at all times by the employees. This is for the purpose of gaining the confidence of the clients and promoting fairness. The organizational values determine the relationship with the clients. Types of clients and consumers The court has the jurisdiction of trying the Australian citizens within the state of Victoria. The court also has the authority to prosecute criminal and civil cases. The issues regarding children and family laws are also within the jurisdiction of the court. The Broadmeadows magistrate court deals with people of different ages. This is because it has the powers to deal with children issues as well as the adult cases which may be civil or criminal. The gender and social economic aspects of the clients do not matter during the trials as the court has the powers to hear cases of anyone regardless of their gender of class in society. However, in some selected cases, the court may consider the cultural values for the purposes of ensuring that the clients are satisfied. This is common when it comes to the cases involving the Koori people (Stroud, 2011). Functions and place of the organization in the community The Broadmeadows magistrates’ courts play an important role in the society of solving the criminal and civil cases. This is for the purposes of ensuring that the laws and order is maintained within the community (Kirke, 2010). As such, the court has a high place in the community and it commands a lot of respect from the members of the community. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the court plays an important role in terms of creating harmony and peaceful co-existence within the community by solving the problems that faces them in terms of the law. Social issues that provide the theme for field placement The Broadmeadows magistrates’ court deals with all the issues that affect the members of the society in terms of the legal aspects. This includes the issues of domestic violence, family and cultural issues. On the other hand the concepts of justice within the society are also upheld by the court when dealing with the social, political or economic issues that are affecting the members of the society. The laws and policies relevant to the social issues Broadmeadows magistrates’ court usually applies several laws and policies when conducting the court cases. When dealing with the criminal cases, the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) is usually utilized by the court for making judgments. When cross-examining the evidence brought before the court, the evidence act is usually applied. The Victorian Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) on the other hand is usually applied during the sentencing of the offenders. This is mainly for the purposes of ensuring a just sentence is imposed on the offenders. Other laws that are used by the court during sentencing also include the Family Laws Act 1975. The application of the law and policies by the courts is usually for the purpose of ensuring justice has been done in all the cases brought before it (Marchetti, 2009). According to the labeling theory, crimes are not just a violation of the penal code but it may be an expression of outrage to the society. This is usually considered by the court during the prosecution and sentencing of offenders. Court tribunals The victims of crime Assistance Tribunal is an important tribunal of the court and it is responsible for providing financial assistance to the victims of violent crime in order to help them in their recovery. According to the family law theory, families may be composed of two to three members. The children form an important part of the family which is considered by the court. This prompted the court to form the children’s division of the court is responsible for hearing any cases related to the children. This includes the criminal cases involving children or the cases involving the protection of the children and the young people (Borowski, 2011). The Koori division on the other hand is for the purposes of sentencing the indigenous defendants. This division of the court allows for informal proceedings with greater participation of the Aboriginal people. The koori elders and members of the families together with the Koori court officers are usually involved actively during the proceedings. This division gives the Aboriginals an opportunity to participate in the court proceedings. Service providers The Broadmeadows magistrates’ court usually works with several service providers for the purposes of effectively carrying out its mandate. The credit/bail support program usually works with the court for the purposes of increasing the chances o the offenders receiving bail. It also assists in the treatment and rehabilitation of the offenders to reduce their likelihood of reoffending. By providing these services the court is able to fulfill its mandate. The court usually requires the forensic acre services and they are provided by the prison mental health services, Thomas embling hospital and community forensic mental health service for physcosexual treatment program. The criminal justice diversion program also plays an important role of providing the accused persons with an opportunity to avoid conviction and it also works with the court integrated services program. The community corrections are for the purposes of assisting the offenders to change their behavior and reform. On the other hand, the Victoria Legal Aid plays the role of offering the legal advice to the offenders and the community. The Salvation Army is a religious organization that is also involved in the service provision at the court. The services mainly include the chaplaincy and other religious related services to the court and the offenders. The involvement of service providers has played an important role in terms of ensuring that the court is able to fully execute its functions. Reflection Analytical and critical thinking skills At the placement, the concepts of analytical and critical thinking skills were applied from time to time. When communicating with the clients, I had to apply the concepts of critical thinking since most of the clients were not comfortable in terms of fully explaining their situation due to the effects that it may have had on them. Other clients are usually emotional and interfering with their communication. On the other hand the concepts of analytical and critical thinking were also applicable when confronted with some of the clients. The confrontation by the clients was due to the lack of proper understanding of the legal issues by the clients. However, through analytical and critical thinking I was able to solve the issues with the client. Confidentiality, conflict of interest, ethics and professionalism According to my understanding, confidentially is the ability to maintain the private information of a client without revealing it to a third party. The confession of a client regarding a crime is a good example. The conflict of interest on the other hand is to be involved in an issue that one has interest in, for instance getting involved in a case that I would benefit from its outcome. Ethics mainly deals with observing the codes of conduct for the purposes of promoting fairness and integrity. An example of ethical practices is refusing to take a bribe from the clients. Professionalism involves observing the policies and regulations. An example is dealing with the clients in a manner that will not cause conflict. Social and linguistic diversity The court has put in place measures to ensure that the language barrier does not affect its mandate. A translator is available in the court for the purposes of ensuring that the clients and the trial magistrates and prosecutors understand each other. This method has been efficient as the number of complaints against it is few. Working with social issues On a daily basis the court usually receive offenders who are involved in alcoholism, drugs, unemployment and mental health. Working with this group of people is usually challenging as most of them are never cooperative. It usually requires a lot of professionalism so as to avoid any misunderstanding with them. Counseling and professional skills are usually required in order to handle this group of people. Understanding their condition and situation is a must for the purposes of interacting with them. Demonstration of professional use of self During the placement, I had to observe a high degree of professionalism. When communicating with the clients, I had to use polite and professional language regardless of the response from the clients. I used to report to work thirty minutes in advance and was never late. The mode of dressing was always official. Supervision I used to plan my activities in advance so as to ensure that the work is done in an orderly manner. This enhanced my operations and I was able to perform all the required duties including writing a daily report. The level of supervision was quite low as I always executed my tasks in the required manner and within the required timeline. Ability to maintain and cultivate professional relationship During the placement period, I had the contacts of most officials that I was working with. This included the contacts of the magistrates, police prosecutors, the senior court registrar, correctional officers and some of the lawyers. I always consulted them when necessary and thus developed a good relationship. One of the magistrates even offered to continue assisting me even after the end of the placement period. Ability to communicate both verbally and in writing The daily communication with the lawyers and magistrates was purely on a verbal basis. This was always a on a daily basis and the practice enabled me to enhance my verbal communication skills. On the other hand, I was supposed to write reports on a daily basis. This also played an important role in terms of sharpening my writing skills. The communication with the clients played an important role in terms of obtaining information from them. Most of the clients do not understand the format way of communication. In some instances, some of the clients were facing the language barrier. I used to communicate with the clients in an informal way so as to encourage them to open up and give more information. In some instances, I had to seek for the services of an interpreter. Solving problems skills In the course of discharging duties some problems were encountered. This includes misplacing of files and also the language barriers. This presented problems and I had to engage the clients directly and inform them of the problem. However, it was always necessary to assure them that the problem will be solved within a short time. Consultations were also important during the problem solving process. Areas of development During the placement period, I had to encounter some cases which were quite difficult. However, I learnt that showing emotions may have a negative impact on the parties involve in the case. Through the experience, I have been bale to deal with emotions regardless of the court case going on. Opportunities offered by the placement During the placement I used to interact frequently with the high ranking court officials. Inn some instances, I got the opportunity to interact on a personal level with some of the magistrates and officials. I received a lot of advice in terms of opportunities to work with the court in future. The senior registrar also agreed to be my referee in my curriculum vitae which an important opportunity. The senior registrar also encouraged me to apply for the position of the trainee registrar. I utilized the placement opportunity by engaging in talks with the police prosecutors, magistrates and the registrar. I also received advice regarding my ambitions to work with the court. Most of the officials encouraged me to apply for the positions of trainee registrar when it will be open. Conclusion In conclusion, the placement period was important in terms of gaining practical knowledge about the court and its operations. It basically played an important role in terms of interacting with the clients and the officials of the court. On the other hand, the placement period was beneficial in terms of enhancing the communication skills. It is also evident that the Broadmeadows magistrates’’ court is for the purposes of ensuring that justice is delivered with the community. On the other hand, all the legal aspects have been are usually considered during the operations of the court. Although I was not able to use the courtlink, I gained much experience during the placement. References Huisman, J. (2013). Student Evaluation of University Image Attractiveness and Its Impact on Student Attachment to International Branch Campuses. Journal of Studies in International Education. Council, S. A. (2010). Sentencing in the Koori Court Division of the Magistrates’ Court: A Statistical Report. State of Victoria: Melbourne. Borowski, A. (2011). In Courtroom 7—The Children’s Koori Court at Work Findings From an Evaluation. International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, 55(7), 1110-1134. Stroud, N. (2011). Accommodating language difference: a collaborative approach to justice in the Koori court of Victoria. In K Allan Selected Papers from the 2005 Conference of the Australian Linguistic Society. Marchetti, E. (2009). Indigenous sentencing courts. Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse. Kirke, P. J. (2010). Culture-based Justice Architecture: Building Community Wellbeing Through Deeper Cultural Engagement. World Bank. Gao, J. H. (2013). Maslow and the Motivation Hierarchy: Measuring Satisfaction of the Needs. The American Journal of Psychology, 126(2), 155-177. Read More