A Day in the life of a Sheriff Clerk

 Guest speaker this week was Neil Rawlings, Sheriff Clerk Perth.

Originally from Cupar, Neil gave an interesting talk relating his journey from the position of temporary admin officer to become Sheriff Clerk.  He has worked for the Court Service for more than 25 years. Neil served as Sheriff Clerk in the Borders, Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy and since June this year, Perth. 

His work has revealed human nature and how families work. It deals with speeding offences all the way up to rape and murder cases. Job requires being very organised and is very varied. Changes over time and accelerated by Covid, mean that much business is now done online.

Evidence can now be videoed and used in court. Mobile phones can capture good evidence. This means the job requires good IT skills and email communications places demands 24 hours a day. Neil as responsible officer has to give advice on procedures. As clerk he has the best seat in the house during cases and he described himself as a Jack of all trades. 

Neil said that he has really enjoyed his working experiences, it is a very interesting job to do and generally he has found the processes to be really fair. It is a very valuable and necessary public service.

The club's formal vote of thanks was amusingly given by PP Donald Mackay.

Monthly draw
1st prize Alastair Durkie
2nd Prize Sandy Paton