need for a Police presence in his courtroom.

Just last week he deputised a young constable -- in the court precincts on other business -- after he found the usual officers assigned to his courtrooms on leave.

And on Monday he repeated his reasons for demanding dedicated officers for security and the need for other officers responsible for removing prisoners.

For nearly a half hour, the Acting Senior Magistrate quietly read papers then left the bench until a regular officer assigned to the courts appeared with prisoners from Hamilton Police Station.

Mr. King then said: "For the information of the duty officer in my court, according to the Police Act, every member of the Service shall obey the order of a senior officer and Justice of the Peace whether the order is given verbally or in writing.

"Since I am a Justice of the Peace, when on duty in my court that officer is not responsible for going over to the station,'' he added. "That's the business of somebody else.

"Otherwise,'' he continued, "what is the purpose of having someone on duty?'' It was then that defendants and the gallery realised what the delay had been and several people affirmed Mr. King's stance, with muttered responses of "that's right'' and "go on''.

Mr. King added that in the past there were other officers -- now retired or in the senior ranks -- who were fixtures in the courts.

"They used to be knocking down each other inside these courts,'' he added.

Mr. King has often recounted how a judge was assaulted by a prisoner and other incidents in the courts, saying "it's only a matter of time'' before something happened again.

Mr. King's current boss, Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner, and his colleague, Family Court Magistrate Carlisle Greaves, have both affirmed their concerns about Court security.

Now that Mr. Warner is abroad on a course and then vacation leave for six weeks with three more to go, Mr. King has been handling the regular plea court session where tempers often run high.