Under pressure: Volunteer JP Ross Mckenzie signs another document at Geelong
By John Van Klaveren
THE WORKLOAD of voluntary Justices of the Peace at the region’s police stations has more than doubled, according to coordinator Joan Scott.
She said the JPs were now on average signing each week more than 2580 documents such as affidavits, statutory declarations and proof-of-identification forms.
The JPs had signed more than 142,000 documents since the service began in 2007, she said.
“Demand is increasing and if we had more volunteers we could be available more often,” Mrs Scott said.
“Our volunteers often work longer than the rostered hours. They could always stay there longer.
“I’m always on the lookout for more Justices of the Peace who can spare three and a half hours to fill a roster spot.”
Mrs Scott said she had a pool of 30 JP volunteers although 300 were registered in the region.
She cited increasing complexity of paperwork requiring witnesses or certifications for the higher workload.
“Forms have grown no end along with the complexity of things we deal with. For instance, many workers now need a statu-tory declaration to prove they were truly sick
“Immigration issues, affidavits, overseas pension documents, traffic fines, certified true copies, senior’s cards and university forms are just some of what we deal with.”
Mrs Scott said JPs now had to deal with computer-based documents as well but were disallowed from acting as referees or guarantors.
“Some people get annoyed if we can’t sign something but there are limits to what we can do.”
Mrs Scott said a Royal Victorian Association of Honorary Justices provided training to keep up to date with documentation requirements.
The volunteer roster saved the equivalent of two full-time police over a year, she said.
Justices of the Peace are available between 9.30am and 1pm on weekdays at Geelong Police Station and on Monday and Friday at Corio’ station.
