Court / Sheriff Cruickshank hopes he has ‘stamped his mark’ on Lerwick court as he departs

AFTER seven years – and one final tête-à-tête with campaigner Stuart Hill – Sheriff Ian Cruickshank will depart his Lerwick chamber for the final time tonight (Friday).

Known for being a keen musician and quick with a quip in the Lerwick Sheriff Court, the sheriff will now focus his time solely on mainland courts in the Grampian, Highlands and Islands sheriffdom.

Taking his robe and wig with him as he goes, Sheriff Cruickshank said it had been a difficult decision to leave Shetland behind.

“I started thinking about it probably over 12 months ago,” he told Shetland News today.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank.

“I’d been living in Shetland for a number of years, but I was here for two weeks then I had to travel back and sit in Inverness for two weeks.

“It’s constant travel back and forth, and about 12 months ago my health wasn’t as good for that constant travel.

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“Around that time my wife and I also found out we were going to be grandparents, and now we have an eight-month old granddaughter.

“So weighing up all those factors, I decided it was time to make the move.”

Having split his time between Shetland and the mainland since 2018, the sheriff will now likely appear mainly in Inverness and Elgin.

However he said it was “not impossible I could be coming back” to Lerwick on occasion to cover absences.

Sheriff Cruickshank speaks fondly about Shetland and its people, who he says have “welcomed” him in, during his seven-year stint here.

He has had to get used to the Lerwick Sheriff Court way of operating, with cases often delayed by travel disruption for solicitors, defendants and witnesses.

Recent internet outages have also led to scrambled solutions such as loudspeaker calls and stacks of paper replacing video links and instant court data.

The outgoing sheriff said these issues could affect any court, but it was “perhaps a wee bit easier to fix or find a solution on the mainland.”

“The staff here have been very good at coming up with pragmatic solutions,” he said.

“You have to accept in an island setting that there are things that just happen, winds that suddenly sweep up … you just have to cope the best you can without letting it interfere with the process.

“I think what I’ve learned, or hopefully will have shown, is there might be mild irritation from time to time but you just battle through it.”

Sheriff Cruickshank admitted he was probably a “bit more laid back about it” than when he first took over from Philip Mann.

However he said he believed Shetland had been “ahead of a lot of other courts” by championing remote technology at an earlier stage, before Covid made it a necessity.

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In his time at the top seat of the court chamber Sheriff Cruickshank has taken a repeatedly strong position on those who bring drugs into the isles.

Lerwick Sheriff Court.

Lerwick Sheriff Court.

Speaking about this, he said he always wanted to send out a clear message to “dissuade individuals from becoming involved”.

“With the uniqueness of Shetland, the importation of drugs and how clever folk can be in their methods, you just have to try and say ‘if you are caught there will be consequences’,” he added.

The sheriff said it was important also for him to take a step back and try to block out any noise on social media about what some people might consider lenient sentences.

“I fully understand that people are entitled to vent their feelings about sentences,” he said.

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“All I can do when I leave the bench is to say ‘I made the best decision I could’ and others can make of it what they want.

“The reactions on social media can be constant, and I make a point of not being involved to any degree on social media.

“At the end of the day, they were not on the bench having to make the decision. It’s very different.”

“I fully understand that people are entitled to vent their feelings about sentences”

But Sheriff Cruickshank has also routinely exhibited a lighter side in the court room, and has enjoyed delivering a knowing glance or considered quip to the press bench too.

The outgoing sheriff said there was definitely a place for humour in the criminal courts, and said that had been recognised by the appeal court.

“If you are going to lighten the mood you have to do it sympathetically and carefully,” he said.

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“Obviously there are going to be some cases where humour is totally inappropriate.

“Every sheriff should stamp his mark on his court and certainly what I hoped to achieve was to preside in a manner which lightens the mood, lightens the tension when appropriate, but hopefully it still delivers fairness.”

Outside of the court room the sheriff could often be found joining traditional music sessions, even squeezing one in after a busy day of court cases at the Lounge on Wednesday.

He said it had “most definitely” helped him to unwind away from the stresses of the day job.

“It’s just been so enjoyable meeting other musicians. I can’t get over the number of musicians in Shetland, and there’s no question they are world class.

“Even the top players I’ve found are so open and welcoming and will sit and have a tune, no matter the ability of the other musicians.

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“Anytime I’ve ever attended a session anywhere, it doesn’t matter what I do during the day. Those who know me have never once let my day job define who I am or treated me any differently.”

The people of Shetland are what makes Sheriff Cruickshank’s exit ultimately “very difficult on many levels”.

“In simple terms, it’s just been amazingly rewardingly both personally and professionally,” he said.

“I’m very said. It’s hard to express how much I’ve appreciated being welcomed into the Shetland community.”

But he said it was definitely not the case that he will not return.

“I will be coming back,” he added.

“As and when they appoint my successor … I’ll say to them, ‘when you go on annual leave give me a buzz, I’ll be happy to come up’.”