Fifty years of being Justices of the Peace

Parkes resident Beverley Cocks and Forbes resident Sinclair (Scott) Brown have been recognised for their 50 years of service as Justices of the Peace. Member for Orange Phil Donato MP presented the pair with certificates recognising their five decades of continued service to the community on behalf of the NSW Attorney General Michael Daley MP. "On behalf of myself as a local member I thank you for your service and continued service hopefully going forward as Justices of the Peace," Mr Donato said. "I know the attorney sincerely also appreciates the work that you have both done in our communities for half a century which is amazing." Beverley and Sinclair can not believe it has already been 50 years as they can both still remember the day they were sworn in, in 1973. "I was nervous at the Parkes Courthouse and I was shaking like a leaf. It was like a criminal, I remember," Mrs Cocks said. "I walked into the courthouse and it was so imposing, the judge sitting up the front and I was shaking. I could hardly say the oath I was so scared. "I got nominated by a community organisation because there was a lack of JPs in the area," Mr Brown said. "Then it goes before the justice department and they investigate your character, you've got to have no criminal record and you have to be sworn in by the magistrate as a JP. I still remember that because I forgot my coat the day I was being sworn in." The pair reflected on how much the system has changed regarding Justices of the Peace and how technology has added another level of difficulty. "Things have changed over the years of course. I think when we first started we didn't have numbers but that came in and of course the dreaded test came in where you have to get 100%. Things have changed over the years to tighten things up," Mrs Cocks said. Mrs Cocks said being a Justices of the Peace in the local community is being a representative of the government. A service to the community is how Mr Brown would describe being Justices of the Peace. "The history of Justices of the Peace goes back many many centuries and it really is a cornerstone or foundation of which justice in our local communities is formed," Mr Donato said. "There was a time when Justices of the Peace used to do bails, such was the level of trust and confidence that was placed by governments of the day in Justices of the Peace and that continues to occur to this day. "You're the eyes and ears to ensure authenticity, to ensure things are done correctly."