Minor offenders will face unnecessary lock-up under judicial changes, Geraldton Justice of the Peace Lou Tatasciore warns

A Geraldton Justice of the Peace has slammed WA Chief Magistrate Steven Heath’s decision to stop JPs from performing judicial duties, labelling the move an “insult” and claiming it will result in minor offenders being locked up unnecessarily. From August 1, JPs will no longer preside over criminal matters in WA magistrate’s courts. Instead, a centralised service based in Perth will hear urgent matters. Lou Tatasciore, president of the Royal Association of Justices WA Midwest Branch, said he first heard of the decision through the media. “There was no consultation,” he said. “Presiding justices are really outraged that the broad body of knowledge, the body of expertise and experience that justices have, and the service that’s been provided over many years, has been tarnished, disrespected and devalued. “There was no prior notice or explanation — it just came as a bolt out of the blue.” Mr Tatasciore, who has been a JP for more than 15 years, said presiding justices played a vital role processing minor criminal matters and ensuring the continuity of legal proceedings. He said presiding justices were relied upon on weekends, public holidays, and when magistrates were unavailable. “We deal mainly with bail applications, adjournments, family violence restraining orders, road safety and good order offences,” Mr Tatasciore said. “It’s basically geared at keeping people out of custody. “(From August 1), if somebody is charged on a Friday and they don’t get bail, they will then sit in custody until Monday.” Mr Tatasciore said he was baffled that the valuable services of JPs were being cast aside, a view echoed by Royal Association of Justices WA registrar Murray Lampard. “The average magistrate is on about $350,000 a year, and with superannuation and a car and all of that, it’s probably $450,000 a year,” Mr Lampard said. “Here we’ve got reasonably well-trained JPs providing services totally voluntarily. “We’ve got a good understanding of the law, we’ve got clear guidelines ... and we take a massive workload off the magistrates.” Another vocal opponent has been WA Police Union president Harry Arnott, who called on Attorney-General John Quigley to reverse the decision. Mr Arnott said small regional communities would be left with “no police response” while officers were left to babysit offenders in custody or transport them to major regional centres. “Clearly, the attorney-general and chief magistrate have underestimated the important role JPs play in regional areas,” he said. “This appears to be an ill-thought decision which will have significant ramifications on magistrates’ workload; on the ability for frontline police officers to do their work in an expeditious manner; and with scant regard for regional communities.”