Worthing magistrate's final hearing after 35 years
A MAGISTRATE who is retiring from court after 35 years said she has seen assaults rocket and knife-crime become more prevalent.
Rosemary Titley, who sits on the bench at Worthing Magistrates' Court, was appointed a magistrate when she was just 35.
During her time, Rosemary has seen sentencing laws change dramatically and made some difficult decisions on murder cases.
One case that stands out firmly in Rosemary's mind is when she made national news headlines.
Poll tax trial
She said: "When I was on the Steyning magistrates' bench, I had the misfortune of sending a woman to prison for two weeks for not paying her poll tax.
"It made the nationals because she was the oldest woman to have ever been sent to prison in the country at the time."
Rosemary, 70, who lives in Shoreham, first came to the bench at Steyning Magistrates' Court in July, 1974.
She said: "My mother's brothers were magistrates so I grew up with it, really.
"In those days you were approached for a position and the chairman of the Steyning bench put my name forward."
Nursing career
Rosemary, who is married with two children, served on the juvenile and domestic panels at the Steyning court, where she became the deputy chairman until the court merged with Worthing in the 1990s.
While working as a magistrate, Rosemary continued to work as a nurse at Southlands Hospital for more than 25 years, and played a leading role in setting up an outpatients clinic in 1974.
In 2001, Worthing, Chichester and Arundel courts merged to become the Sussex Western Bench of magistrates.
Rosemary became the deputy chair of the Western bench based at Worthing Magistrates' Court and later was elected chairman for three years.
Brain training
"I've found being a magistrate very stimulating and a good exercise for the grey matter," she said.
"Some cases leave a lasting impression, especially family cases.
"Making a decision to take children away from their parents is incredibly difficult. You have to do a lot of soul searching.
"I've seen a big shift in sentencing – when I began as a magistrate, if you drove with no insurance you were imprisoned. Today you get a penalty of some description.
"It used to be very rare to hear an assault case, today every court list has a form of assault on it. Assaults have rocketed and knife crime is becoming more and more prevalent."
Rosemary plans to spend her retirement seeing more of her family and researching her family history.
Rosemary will have her final sitting at Worthing Magistrates' Court in Christchurch Road on September 3.
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Weather for Worthing
Tuesday 29 May 2012
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Light rain
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