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 The aim of the Magistrates in the Community Project (MIC) is ....
"... to raise awareness in the community of the lay magistracy and its work in magistrates' courts, thereby increasing respect and confidence in justice and the justice system"
Originally called The Schools Project, MIC has developed dramatically over the past five years and now reaches a varied audience. The next stage of MIC development is to expand the project to encompass a greater range of public relations activities.
A complete description of MIC, its work and how this work is organised can be found on the Magistrates' Association website, http://www.magistrates-association.org.uk, along with a great deal of additional information about magistrates and their work. The new posters below show just some of the material that is available from the MA.
   
Trafford’s involvement
At Trafford we make regular presentations to schools at all levels and of all abilities as well as to adult groups We are in the process of expanding our target market to include more adult interest and social groups, and employer groups.
Clearly, each presentation is tailored to each audience and their expectations, both in terms of content and manner of presentation. A typical presentation might be:
- Introduction - who are magistrates.
- A quiz - to get people involved and examine how much they know and how much is guesswork.
- Court Business - the different types of case we can and can’t hear.
- Court Process - the sequence of events, and why trials often take 3 months to come to court
- Court People - who’s who in Court.
- Case Study - turning the audience into magistrates and letting them decide the verdict and sentence if appropriate.
- Questions and answers - often exploding some myths.
Timing can be arranged to suit the audience. For example, a school presentation needs to fit into the timetable, whereas an evening presentation to (say) Round Table could last a lot longer.
If you would like the Trafford MIC team to talk to your group, contact should be initially made by phoning the Court on 0161 975 4653. You will then be contacted by a member of the MIC team to discuss your requirements and arrange a presentation. Alternatively you can e-mail the MIC team using the following link:
mic@traffordmagistrates.info.
Type of involvement
There are four distinct groups who commonly call for MIC presentations
- Primary Schools - relatively new at Trafford, but so far, very encouraging. A different e-mail address should be used, as this is co-ordinated by a different team: primarymic@traffordmagistrates.info
- Secondary Schools - been going for some years with regular presentations at certain schools. Each year we will correspond with all Trafford Secondary Schools to ask about their requirements for the coming year. A presentation will be agreed and a timetable set.
Schools are also often interested in the Mock Trial Competition which is held each year across the country, divided into Local, Regional and National stages. Trafford have hosted the local heats and regional finals in recent years and in 2006 hosted the National Finals
If any schools are interested (Years 8 & 9) please contact us at mic@traffordmagistrates.info..
- Employment groups - this is at an embryonic stage, but we would like to hear from any companies or employer groups who may be interested in making their staff aware of the Court Process and the work of magistrates.
A leaflet for employers is available, which explains some of the benefits of staff becoming magistrates. If you want a copy please e-mail us at mic@traffordmagistrates.info.
- Social Groups - these have been going for some years, although we would like to encourage more disparate groups to become interested. Our recent Bench Chairman Susan Craig is now into her 4th year of presentations on P & O Cruises (isn’t there anything better for them to do?), and they are well attended and appreciated.
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