Increase in female magistrates could mask decline in diversity

A majority of magistrates are women but the sustained increase in their numbers may be concealing a reduction of social diversity on the bench, the national chair of the Magistrates Association has suggested.The latest statistics show that 54% of all magistrates in England and Wales are women but Malcolm Richardson asked if that meant more middle-class partners who are either not working or only work part-time were joining the bench.“We are getting to the place that we are needing to be a