AFTER THREE years of meting out justice at the helm of Redbridge Magistrates Court, Richard Hoskins is stepping down as chairman of the bench.

Mr Hoskins, of Mornington Road, Woodford Green, has come to the end of his three-year appointment as chairman of the bench and will literally be handing the baton over to his successor, Mike Batten, and resuming a back seat.

Looking back on his time as chairman of the bench, Mr Hoskins says one of his most rewarding jobs was fighting a successful campaign to keep the court open, a court in the midst of sweeping change.

He said: "It's been an interesting three years. During that time we've had to fight to keep the court open and it's now a time of enormous change in the system.

"The administration systems in all courts, both Crown courts and magistrates, are being reorganised so that within 18 months all the courts in the country will all be part of a centralised administration.

"This is already happening at Redbridge Magistrates Court. For the staff it's quite disruptive. It's pretty upsetting as staff who want to work locally are being told they have to work in other parts of London.

"Already our fine enforcement section has been taken out of Redbridge and is being carried out in the Thames Magistrates Court.

"The centralisation is steadily working through London, but I believe in local justice. The problem is some people see an organisation with a central administration and the magistrates court with branches in the community.

"I believe the magistrates court should be the centre of the system."

Mr Hoskins' job as chairman of the bench involved providing pastoral care to his colleagues and building up relationships with the staff to act as representative or spokesman, both inside and outside the court.

Commenting on recent figures showing courts jailed more people for minor driving offences than burglary last year, he said: "Since I've been on the bench I've been involved in putting far more burglars into custody than drivers.

"Courts have to work within certain guidelines.

"We do imprison people who perhaps have been disqualified from driving a number of times and continue driving as they are a risk to themselves and the community at large.

"There are all kinds of burglary, from a man walking down the street who pops into a house and pinches stuff off the hall table to the burglars late at night who terrorise the inhabitants.

"They are both burglary but it depends on the factors of the case - every burglary is different."

Speaking of his experiences he added: "We see all kinds of people coming into court. You learn a great deal about yourself in court.

"It's time to stop if you stop learning about yourself. Some people who come into court are unfortunate and some people are thoroughly evil but you also see a great deal of people coming into court who are mentally ill.

"There's no point sending these type of people to prison as it is not going to correct them they need treatment."

Mr Hoskins said the court had developed a successful system of providing support and therapy for drug offenders, a crime which forms a major bulk of offences, with addicts often robbing or burgling to feed their habits.

"We've developed a court-based drug worker. Every drug offender we can get off drugs is a step towards cutting the crime level. It's a very expensive programme which only works if the drug users have a commitment to it."