OLD BAILEY SHORTHAND WRITERS ( SHW ) WILL BE MISSED BY BUILDING’S STAFF.

For the record, stenographers put down their pens at the Old Bailey

Paul Cheston

Evening Standard online

23 March 2012

An era will end at the Old Bailey when the official record of a trial is taken by hand for the last time.

Stenographers — and before them shorthand writers — have been recording courtroom exchanges for centuries. When Charles Dickens was a court reporter at the Old Bailey, the pen-and-quill logger was a familiar figure.

But from Monday, the 17 regulars at the Central Criminal Court, who take down 180 to 220 words per minute, will be replaced by audio recordings as part of £5 million cuts at crown courts across the country.

A courts service spokesman said the new system would be faster, more efficient and provide “improved business procedures”. But stenographers, who are paid less than £100 a day before deductions with no sick pay, holidays or pension, and have to pay up to £4,000 for their own machines, believe they provide the best service.

Elizabeth Mowbray, a stenographer at the Old Bailey for 11 years, said the human element was irreplaceable: “An audio recording still has to be transcribed. But can a machine recognise the different voices, say, in a trial of six defendants, each with their own counsel, and the prosecution and the witness and the judge, unless each person is introduced before speaking?

“Court proceedings are only as good as the court record. We are sometimes required to lip read when a witness is mumbling, and even understand patois.” Ms Mowbray had to act as a French interpreter this year after the official translator failed to turn up. “I saved time and money,” she said. “I don’t think we’ve been taken seriously. I love my job. It is profoundly sad.”

Last night judges, led by the Recorder of London, Peter Beaumont QC, hosted a party for the stenographers. But they have been asked to attend the Old Bailey next week in case the new system breaks down. The High Court still uses stenographers for some cases.