Origins of the role of High Sheriff
A short history of the High Sheriff has been included below. This has been divided into the office in Greater London today and the historic origin of High Sheriffs.
The High Sheriff of Greater London is a modern office, although its role is linked to past history.
Historic role: Manager of the King’s estate and Collector of Revenues
The office of High Sheriff goes back to the Saxon era in the 7th century. It is the oldest civic office in England besides the Monarch. In Saxon times the country was divided into administrative regions called shires, a county today. The name of Sheriff evolved from the original Anglo Saxon scir gerefa, to Shire Reeve, the guardian or head of a shire and then to Sheriff. There is mention made of Sheriffs in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle of which there is an original copy in the Parker Library in Corpus Christ College, Cambridge University. Sheriffs supported the King militarily and mention is made of Sheriffs at the Battle of Hastings fighting for the last Saxon king, King Harold.
The Norman kings retained the office and a Sheriff was appointed for each Shire to head the civil and military administration of the shire. They became responsible for the management of the king’s estate, collecting taxes and rents from the king’s tenants and ensuring that law and order was maintained.
In 1130 the City of London bought the right to elect its own Sheriff and elects two Sheriffs to this day. Also in the 12th Century, King Henry I established the Court of Exchequer and Sheriffs were obliged to pay over the taxes collected from their shires to that court. This enabled the King to exercise some control over the Sheriffs. Some had abused their power and exhorted extra taxes by threats or failed to account for all the revenues collected. Magna Carta contains provisions designed to reign in such abuses. A stringent system of fines were imposed for those Sheriffs who failed fully to account.
The Sheriffs’ revenue collection, as well as military, powers were gradually stripped away.
Historic role: The Justice System
The Sheriff had responsibility for administering justice in the shire courts in Anglo Saxon times although part of this was shared with Bishops of the church. Sheriffs became solely responsible for dealing with disputes, other than church matters, from Norman times and remained responsible for preserving the King’s peace and had the power to raise the “hue and cry” (the ‘posse comitatus’). This power allowed the Sheriff to raise a small army in pursuit of criminals. This right of posse comitatus was only repealed in 1967.
The Sheriffs presided over the Hundred Courts which were held every four weeks in medieval times. The Sheriffs arrested and hanged criminals and empanelled common law juries. The Sheriff would deliver the judgment, which could include trial by ordeal and ensured that the sentence was carried out. The obligation to supervise public executions lasted until the abolition of the death penalty in the 1950s.
Later medieval Kings established a penal code and delegated their powers for law enforcement to the local Sheriff and established Assize Courts over which the Sheriff had jurisdiction. The King’s justices were sent out on circuit to sit at them. There are still circuit judges. The Sheriffs surrendered their jurisdiction over these courts to the King’s judges of the assize whilst the judges were sitting. This jurisdictional link over the Assize Courts lasted until these courts were replaced by the Crown Courts in the 1970s, although the Sheriffs’ duties, by then, were very different.
The Sheriffs’ link to the functions of the civil law lasted until 1999. The writ or summons which started every civil claim from 1154 to 1999 stated that claimants should request the court to direct the Sheriff in the relevant county to summons the accused to appear before a judge to defend the claim.
Legal and administrative practices were reformed extensively in Victorian times and the Sheriffs’ Act 1887 was introduced to bring the law relating to Sheriffs into line with existing practices. This is still the governing statute and consolidated the responsibilities of Sheriffs and confirmed their role as the Sovereign’s representative in a county for all matters relating to the Judiciary and the maintenance of law and order. This statute requires the High Sheriff to appoint an Under Sheriff.
The execution of law and order today, is principally delegated to the Chief Constable of Police for each county and in Greater London, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Following the Courts Act of 2003, the Sheriffs’ ancient responsibility for the enforcement of High Court Writs, which in practice was largely performed by the Under Sheriffs, was transferred to the newly appointed High Court Enforcement Officers.
Today the High Sheriff has few legal duties, but the duty to present Justice Awards recognises that the work of the Justice System is dependent on the support of citizens and rewards those that have gone above and beyond to help bring someone to justice.
Greater London today
Up to 1889 the county of London did not exist. The City of London was the original London and acts as a local authority today. The county of London was created in 1889 and a Sheriff established for the new county.
In 1965, the county of London was replaced by Greater London, comprising the old county of Middlesex and parts of Surrey and Kent and was divided into 32 boroughs. The High Sheriff of Greater London came into being then, although still called a Sheriff until 1972, when the term High Sheriff was brought in for all counties in England and Wales. The names of all High Sheriffs of Greater London since 1965 are listed on a plaque which is hung at the Royal Courts of Justice.
Today’s role is to be the Sovereign’s representative for the Judiciary and the wider law and order system in Greater London. This reflects the historic links of Sheriffs to the administration of these responsibilities. The Justice awards made by the High Sheriff are one of the very few remaining legal duties and reflect this link.
List of Sheriffs in a Tudor document.
Extract from Anglo Saxon Chronicle from 7th century AD which mentions Sheriffs.
How the High Sheriff is appointed
The law requires the High Sheriff to nominate a person to be appointed High Sheriff for a future year. The process is governed by guidelines which require the High Sheriff to appoint an advisory panel to consider possible candidates and approve the candidate to be nominated by the High Sheriff. Any candidate to be put forward to the Privy Council for appointment must also be approved by the Lord-Lieutenant of the county.
There are certain requirements to be met by candidates. Candidates cannot be members of the Royal Family, members of Parliament or involved in national or local politics during their proposed year of office, a judge, a practicing lawyer in a field which may present a conflict, a magistrate or a serving member of the armed forces. A candidate for High Sheriff of Greater London should have played a prominent part in the life of Greater London through their work or voluntary activities and seek to represent Greater London as a whole. Candidates must own property in Greater London and must not have any criminal convictions. It is important that candidates and those put forward for appointment reflect the diversity of Greater London, have the time to perform the role and can demonstrate a strong interest in performing it.
Each year a ceremony is held in the Royal Courts of Justice, usually before November 12, during which the names of the candidates submitted for appointment (nomination) are read out. Once that happens the candidates are known as High Sheriffs in Nomination.
In the month before a High Sheriff is expected to take office, His Majesty the King, in Privy Council, confirms the appointment by pricking the names of each High Sheriff with a bodkin, a tradition which is said to go back to at least Queen Elizabeth 1.
High Sheriff Framework
CELEBRATING and CONNECTING OUR COMMUNITIES
High Sheriff Framework
Built on: Consistency, Continuity, Collaboration, Convening and Celebration
What We Do
The High Sheriff of Greater London is His Majesty the King’s representative for law and order in Greater London. The role is independent, voluntary and non-political. Each High Sheriff of Greater London serves for a one year term and appoints an Under Sheriff, to assist them.
Supporting, encouraging and celebrating the work of the judiciary, the courts and the wider justice system is at the heart of the role. This includes the work of the Metropolitan Police, London prisons, the London probation service, HM Inspectors of Prisons, Constabulary, Fire and Rescue, the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime and the charitable and voluntary sector; much of whose work underpins the justice system, especially prisoner rehabilitation, and both victim and witness support.
Traditionally the work has been more focused on the criminal justice system and those that are engaged in it. However the role is broader and encompasses the work of all courts, including High Court civil work, Crown Courts, family, Magistrates, county, district and coroners’ courts and tribunals, such as the immigration tribunals.
The office of the High Sheriff of Greater London also provides support for the work of the Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London which fosters social inclusion through his ‘Building Bridges’ project and the work of those involved in the emergency services. High Sheriffs in the Shires of England and Wales will often be asked to support Royal visits or events in their counties. Attending Royal visits is not usually required of the High Sheriff of Greater London.
The High Sheriff is active in their support for the work of volunteers. Charitable organisations and volunteers (particularly those involved in law and order) play a significant role in providing help to our communities in Greater London.
The office operates without any financial or administrative support, other than any support paid for by the High Sheriff.
A Framework for the Office
A Framework has been put in place to meet the challenge of providing effective support to our communities in a large and complex city.
It aims to promote consistency and continuity in carrying out the core function of the role, to maintain and build relationships and momentum from one High Sheriff to the next and to promote initiatives and projects, which successive High Sheriffs are keen to support. This is designed to achieve greater effectiveness for our communities and visibility in what we do. It will be kept under review as the role continues to adapt to support the needs of our communities.
The Framework allows each High Sheriff to draw on their skills and expertise and put in place individual plans to further any particular theme they may choose to have in their year of office to enhance the ‘business as usual’ engagements and any ongoing projects.
The building blocks
The building blocks underlying the Framework are:
Consistency: consistent engagement with our key stakeholders, to ensure that relationships are maintained and built and momentum is not lost as each new High Sheriff takes office. A set of ‘business as usual’ engagements is at the core of this and includes visiting those institutions involved in law and order, especially the Courts, prison and emergency services.
Continuity: continuity through on-going projects to reinforce the principles of justice and compliment the work of our stakeholders. A continuum of future High Sheriffs has been formed to underpin the work of the current High Sheriff and to carry on support for on going projects to promote continuity and enhance the effectiveness of the role.
Any continuity projects will sit alongside any individual initiatives which a High Sheriff may wish to promote during their year of office and the ‘business as usual’ activities.
Collaboration: The High Sheriff will collaborate with others to enhance the work of the High Sheriff and cut across silos. The High Sheriff supports the work of the Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London via his Building Bridges programme and, in particular, his work to increase social inclusion. Working with other High Sheriffs to share ideas and best practice gives rise to opportunities to collaborate on issues across county boundaries and promote awareness.
Convening: The independence and nature of the office affords the opportunity to bring people together to raise awareness of, and possible solutions to, issues affecting the justice system and join together people in our communities in Greater London. Increased use of on-line engagement during recent years has opened up greater opportunities for the office to bring people together to have conversations, on a small or large scale and to engage with a wider audience. Through this we can work to help cut across silos and assist cooperation amongst stakeholders.
Celebration: Thanking people and celebrating the extraordinary efforts of others in the work of the justice system is at the heart of the role. Crown Court judges have discretionary powers to make Justice Awards to people who have gone above and beyond in helping bring someone to justice or to assist a victim of crime. These are monetary and certificated awards presented by the High Sheriff. Greater London judges make a significant number of awards and a key event is for the High Sheriff to hold awards ceremonies each year to present High Sheriff Justice Award certificates to celebrate the public spirited actions of the award recipients. Youth Awards to support good citizenship behaviours which underpin justice, such as fairness, kindness, respect and taking responsibility, form part of working in collaboration with stakeholders. These are non-monetary awards delivered usually at the same ceremony as the Justice Awards. Presenting Special Recognition Award certificates to ‘unsung heroes’ is at the heart of our work to celebrate our communities, and in particular to staff and volunteers whose work supports the justice system (including courts, prisons and charities) and to members of the community, to thank them for their extraordinary dedication and support given to others.
The High Sheriff also supports National Crimebeat by identifying and supporting projects led or delivered by young people in Greater London to help combat crime. The High Sheriff collaborates with stakeholders, such as the Metropolitan Police and charities, to identify projects which can be put forward for an award.
What is New
- The Framework builds on the work that successive High Sheriffs of Greater London have done but focuses on continuity
- The opportunity has been taken to reflect on the the way the role of the High Sheriff has been performed around the country to assist communities and the challenges faced. An emphasis on increased community engagement to promote awareness of the work of our stakeholders, the issues they face, greater collaboration and transparency in what they do, are key outcomes.
- The Framework recognises the financial constraints on the role due to the fact there is no access to the public purse. It is important that diversity is promoted and the office can be performed by people who do not have extensive financial resources.
- A High Sheriff of Greater London Impact Fund is being formed which would allow monies to be built up by successive High Sheriffs to support their charitable initiatives.
- Relationships with a wider number of stakeholders are being developed, for example with Mayors in boroughs with prisons and the Courts to raise the visibility of what we do and increased community engagement. Building relationships with the Deputy Lieutenants for these boroughs is also part of this plan.
- Collaboration with High Sheriffs in other counties and with City of London Sheriffs on some events has led and may lead to convening opportunities on justice related issues for the benefit of our communities.
- An ongoing programme of presenting awards in London’s prisons in collaboration with Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.