Judges told to stop posting about their jobs on social media amid safety fears

Judges have been told not to post about their jobs on social media amid an increase in online and physical threats.

Baroness Carr, the Lady Chief Justice, the most senior judge in England and Wales, is setting up a taskforce to look at ways to ramp up judges’ security, both physically and online.

In a letter to judges in England and Wales announcing the taskforce, she said she was “increasingly concerned” about social media threats and abuse of the judiciary.

“As many of you will be aware, incidents threatening or compromising judicial safety are becoming all too common, both inside and outside of the courtroom and online as well as physical. Any incident where your security is compromised is taken with the utmost seriousness,” she said.

She said the new “operational security” taskforce would “look not just at threats to physical security in the courts and tribunals but also online threats and abuse, and threats to home and family.”

Baroness Carr cited updated guidance that “discouraged” social media use by the judiciary, which states: “Do not refer, or even allude, to being a judge in your social media profile or anything you post on social media.”

They are advised not to publish or share personal details, avoid posting photos that could identify where they live and not to “assume your use of social media is truly private or that you cannot be identified as a judge.”

The advice, seen by The Telegraph, also says they should be aware of the risks of jigsaw identification and that people may not be how they appear to be on social media. Liking, following, friending or unfriending people could “disclose information about yourself.”

Baroness Carr told the judges that the security protocols which deal with “potentially violent persons” were also being updated. This included panic buttons, emergency exits and judicial orders banning dangerous participants from the court.

Pleaded guilty to assault

The upgrade in physical security follows an attack on Patrick Perusko, a senior family court judge, who was assaulted during a hearing at Milton Keynes County Court and hit with a radiator. His attacker, who was representing himself without a lawyer, later pleaded guilty to assault, criminal damage and harassment.

The taskforce is also expected to review the findings from a pilot scheme where judges donned their robes at the main family court in London in a bid to address safety concerns.

The tradition of formal robes has fallen out of favour in an attempt to make the family court less intimidating to litigants but was resurrected in the pilot scheme after “increasingly common” incidents of violence were said to be causing “apprehension” among judges.

‘Relatively high’ number of incidents

Sir Andrew McFarlane, the country’s most senior family law judge, said that in response to the “relatively high” number of incidents – including knives being confiscated at the door of the London court – “judges felt they wanted to do something to see if it would change the perception of those attending court.”

Judges have been advised that they can issue judicial orders requiring a defendant or witness to be barred from a court and attend only remotely via video if a risk assessment establishes it is the safest approach.

Where courts have cells and enough security staff, judges have been advised that contempt of court is a “valuable judicial tool” for managing bad behaviour.

Baroness Carr said in the letter: “Security training for civil, family, tribunal judges and members and coroners is due to be launched in the spring and will bring together all available guidance.

“The training will contain scenario-based examples, a video from HM courts and tribunal service security explaining their roles, as well as information from the police on identifying verbal and non-verbal cues.”