The Crown Court judge who called Barnsley’s social workers Nazis after they subjected a six year old girl to inhumane treatment shortly after her mother died, was once tipped to be Mayor Of Grimsby because of his ‘no nonsense’ approach to cases.
Judge Robert Moore, who was set to retire this year, made a surprise comeback in June. Ongoing praise by locals in Grimsby led to residents nominating him for mayor, though he never ran for the position. According to Grimsby Live, a local paper in the area, Moore is now working as a deputy circuit judge, sitting regularly at Sheffield Crown Court, which is where he likened Barnsley’s social workers to members of Hitler’s SS party.
Judge Moore’s comments about Barnsley’s social workers received nationwide support from parents going through the family justice system, who called the judge a hero on social media. The comments also sparked a reaction from Barnsley Council, who vowed to make a formal complaint about Moore’s criticisms of its social workers.
This though, is not the first time Judge Moore’s direct approach has been noted. Having developed a fearsome reputation for handing down long sentences in the criminal cases he sits on, Moore also once dismissed an entire jury over concerns that some of the panel members were racially prejudiced. The case involved three black defendants who were on trial for alleged affray. Concerns over jurors using racist language prompted Moore to dismiss the panel.
Moore has also criticised social workers in the past. In a previous case he presided over, the judge slammed a council for removing children from their parents, who were placed in care over smacking allegations. The step father in the case had been accused of ongoing assaults, which included hitting one child on the hand with a wooden spoon, and making another child stand in the corner. Hitting a child at home is still legal in the UK, as long as the assault does not leave a mark. Judge Moore took the view that the trial itself, and placing the children in care away from their parents was crueller to the children than the assaults which took place.
SS women camp guards Bergen-Belsen April 19 1945. Source: Wikimedia Commons
I think we need a few clones of this Judge! His comment that placing kids in care was more cruel than the punishment they had undergone at home is very telling, and should be borne in mind by all who wish smacking to be made illegal; for if it is, there will be many more kids in care.
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Hi Roger, thank you for your comment. As you know, I believe hitting children should be legislated against, not least of all because adult on adult hitting is legislated against and I can’t see any just reason for not allowing children the same protection (if anything, they need it more than we do), however, I also think how authorities respond to that violence is important. Making something a criminal offence doesn’t have to mean automatic jail time. It can involve educating the public on why hitting isn’t the best option – or even a necessary part of parenting – and using the law as a way to signal best practice, which is how it is often used. So whilst I agree with the judge that trials and family separation are deeply traumatic for children and should never be used in a context where the hitting can be stopped, I also think we need to tackle childhood assaults in a way that benefits both children and parents.
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Hi Natasha! Of course I know your views, and respect them even if not always agreeing. (I do agree that there is an anomaly where hitting an adult is an offence but smacking a child isn’t). My point is that we, obviously, cannot trust the social services to do the right thing. They have a cavalier approach to child ‘welfare’ and often seem to needlessly separate families, harming children and adults far more than the ‘offence’ ever did. They should be in the dock, as this Judge realises.
I would add, too, that my generation were regularly smacked for even minor misdemeanours, some of us were beaten fairly regularly – at school as well as at home. Yet in general, I think we were happier, more carefree than children are today. With knife crime much worse now than it ever was, what has gone wrong? Something has. In the summer, our doors were always open, literally. We kids used to pop in to our neighbours and were – usually – welcomed. I don’t remember a single violent incident (apart from us getting smacked!) and mine was not a particularly affluent area. I don’t have any answers, but I think we should go further in investigating why, with all the benefits of modern improvements, technology, design, comfort etc. etc., the children and young adults seem so unsettled and so lacking the joy of life. Not all of course, but it’s my opinion that this is true of a far greater proportion of the young population than it was then. Comments welcome!
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Young people now are hidebound by political correctness anfd “health and safety” .If you have a fight you are classed as violent and worse still if a white boy has a disagreement with a black boy and reminds him of his colour God help him he will be in diversity classes for moths afterwards ……….
How many children do you see playingfootball and hopscotch in Streets and alleys ?We all suffer emotional abuse in childhood and adulthood but now that is made an excuse to destroy families .All this is but “the tip of the iceberg”…….
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But surely making a child stand in a corner is neither illegal nor cruel as long it is for a short period of time ;My kids are all adult now but I remember how they were sent to sit in a corner sometimes ……
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Hi Ian, from the article it sounds as if the central issue was the pervasive and ongoing element of the treatment which under current guidelines needs to be considered reasonable- that may have been the CPS’s contention – that it wasn’t. We don’t have full details but yes, you are right, the actions alone are not grounds or prosecution.
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It’s so nice to hear of a judge that’s finally seen Barnsley social workers for what they are,well done judge Moore.
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It’s not just Barnsley, but Sheffield as well and throughout the UK; but it doesn’t stop there – USA, Canada, Australia, some countries in Europe. But where there’s real abuse, harm or neglect they do nothing. Sometimes smacking a child is the only way to get through to them about bad behaviour or putting themselves at risk, you have to do something to them can be almost as bad as actually hurting themselves for example when a talking to won’t do. Besides, young children don’t understand reason or why they shouldn’t do something in particular but they will find a slap on the leg or back of the hand painful and that should get the message through, just the odd slap until it does. Do you want a child that is smacked for running out into the road but safe or one that gets knocked down and seriously injured or killed? And we are talking about a slap, not a beating. Usually when one adult hits another it’s due to selfishness of some kind or unreasonable behaviour of the person doing the hitting. ECHR hasn’t helped, kids have grown up the last 20 or 30 years believing they can do what they want and are untouchable. With rights comes responsibilities and wrongdoing warrants punishments not rewards.
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Reblogged this on tummum's Blog and commented:
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Are other Judges getting the message? Story in the Daily Mail today (page 32)Judge Wilding of Watford Family Court said Hertfordshire County Council social workers were ‘incorrect’, ‘inaccurate’, ‘far from the truth’, and ‘entirely misleading’ in a case where they had applied for four children to be fostered or adopted. He blocked their application. The Judge was equally critical of police, saying ‘When they took the protective measures for the children they noted that the family had a long history of injuries, which I have found to be untrue, and said there was domestic violence within the family, of which there is not a shred of supporting evidence’.
Many more like this and I’ll begin to have faith in our justice system once again!
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so what is being done about the uk ss? talk isn’t going to reunite a family and undo the trauma caused by the nazi scum. we need some action.
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its not so easy bringing criminal council staff to justice as they operate like organized crime gangs.they Lie constantly and will even remove incriminating information from their council computer systems to evade investigation.
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