Mary Chapman (left) of the Central Districts JP Association presenting the certificate to Tom Castles. His wife Gay had to keep the event a secret. Photo / Supplied
Mary Chapman (left) of the Central Districts JP Association presenting the certificate to Tom Castles. His wife Gay had to keep the event a secret. Photo / Supplied
Tom Castles has seen a lot in his time as a Justice of the Peace (JP).
Years ago, when a judicial JP would hear depositions, the Dannevirke resident was one of a select few whowould sit on the bench.
He'd heard his share of horrific cases, including one that involved child molestation.
The night after hearing those depositions, he went home and couldn't even face dinner.
The presentation was kept a secret from him until the AGM of the Manawatu JPs Association.
He almost didn't go as he'd wanted to go out to dinner with friends for a belated birthday celebration.
Talking to the president, Maureen Reynolds, he'd told her he thought there were still restrictions on numbers and wanted to forgo attending so someone in Palmerston North could attend instead.
But his wife, who was in on the surprise, made sure he attended.
The funny thing was, there had been a sheet of paper detailing what was going to be happening at the AGM.
"I only read the front of it," he said.
Little did he know that if he'd read the back of it at the time, he would have known about the presentation.
"Which goes to show you should always read a paper, front and back."
Lifetime membership is only given to a select few, with one of the criteria being service spanning more than 30 years.
Castles said they also have to prove to their peers they deserve it and he thinks his accolade is due not only to his long service and his time as president of the Dannevirke branch, but also the time he'd served as a judicial JP and his efforts in getting others to become one.
"I'd tried to encourage people to become JPs, by sometimes shoulder-tapping them or on the recommendation of the community or community groups, bearing in mind that JPs reflect the whole of the community.
"Not a fraction of the community, the whole community, and it's important that we reflect that."
He wasn't sure when he first became a JP, but it was around the time John Falloon was in Parliament as the MP for Pahiatua. Falloon's tenure ran from 1977 to 1996.
"I've had my 30-year certificate," Castles said.
The process to become a JP is very different now from when he did it.
"In my day you were appointed. You didn't need to sit any exams.
"Today you go through training and it's a lot more complicated.
"It's probably right that it is because it's become more intense.
"The laws have become a lot more complicated."
Not every JP was also a judicial JP, either.
"I really don't know how I got involved with that," Castles said.
He had to sit what he called a "low-key" exam.
"These days … it takes about a year. And it's a complicated procedure."
As a judicial JP, he would be one of two who would sit on the bench and hear the depositions from both the prosecution and the defence and decide whether the case should go to court.
That has changed considerably.
"Minor offences are now able to be looked at by JPs. But anything that carries a mandatory jail sentence is heard by a judge. And quite rightly so."
Serving as a JP has been very rewarding for Tom Castles. Photo / Leanne Warr
Being a JP has been very rewarding.
"You get out of it what you put into it," Castles said.