Page 2 - Staff FocusSeptember 2020

Thank you all for the decades of service and achievement

Over the months of Coronavirus we have not had the chance to say
the usual farewells that we would to long-serving colleagues who
have started their retirements. They take with them, as well as our
very best wishes and thanks, some great experiences and insights
about their careers. So we have asked those with 40 years and
more of service to share some of their memories…

With 47 years behind him, Glasgow and Strathkelvin Sheriffdom
Business Manager Steve Bain has seen it all and been a main
mover for much of it. Congratulations, thanks and praise showered in
for Steve when he retired on 19 June, exactly 47 years to the day
from when he first arrived to start work in the court service in 1973.
In the intervening nearly five decades Steve made his way to a very Even handed: Steve in the trophy rooms at Celtic Park and Ibrox
prominent role in SCTS in the West of Scotland, a remarkable relief officer, an achievement that may never be matched.
achievement and a magnificent demonstration of dedication and As one of Steve’s contemporaries, Ken Carter put it: “Your
loyalty to the cause of justice. experience will be missed by SCTS in general and certainly by
It began as a clerical officer in Paisley Sheriff Court where he worked Glasgow Sheriff Court. Anyone who has worked under you as
for five years before moving on as a second class depute to part of your team has always learned a lot , myself included,
Edinburgh until 1980, then moving back west to Glasgow Sheriff with you setting very high standards and expectations but
Court where he was promoted to first class depute in 1984. In 1992, Helping people succeed: Steve Bain in full flow always supportive.”
he took the high road north to Inverness Sheriff Court until 1994, There were plenty of good times and accolades over Steve’s career, like the memorable
when he became an SEO and moved to the Supreme Courts going on to become Head of achievement of CSE Accreditation at Glasgow Sheriff and Justice of the Peace
Crime at Glasgow Sheriff Court in 1996. After spells at Dumbarton from 2000-2002 and Court in 2013 or the listing of the building the following year, making it is the only
Paisley 2002-2006, he returned again to the Dear Green Place, where he was Sheriff
Clerk and SBM for 13 years, at the busiest court in Europe. listed post-war court facility in the country.
Over that time he has seen many an interesting challenge come across his desk. Like There were also the difficult times that meant Steve had to respond quickly and
preparing for the 2005 G8 World leaders’ Summit at Gleneagles, and leading the decisively to events, such as the morning when scaffolding dislodged in high winds
Implementation of the Bowen Reforms for sheriff and jury business which demonstrated smashed on to the court’s glass skylights above the main atrium threatening to send
what you can do with a team of very talented people. showers of glass down on to people in the concourse.
And there have been plenty of others – from the unification with District and JP Courts Steve is famed for his leadership abilities which have helped many people who have
to the Clutha helicopter crash FAI; providing support for 3 different Sheriffs Principal in worked for him over the years. And he was always keen to encourage staff to take up
Glasgow and if that wasn’t enough there was a dose of managing the profound learning opportunities to promote their abilities and careers, leading by example in that
complexities and challenges presented by COVID-19 as a final chapter to a remarkable too by managing to find the time to gain an MBA from Glasgow Caledonian University
career. He has also worked in more than 40 different courts around the country as a