Frederick John Hill (born 31 October 1940), known as Bob Hill, is a Jersey politician and human rights campaigner. For 18 years he was Deputy for the parish of St Martin in the

States of Jersey The States Assembly (french: Assemblée des États; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable of each of the twelve parishes. The origins of the legislature of Jersey lie in the system o ...

Biography

Hill was born in the parish of

St Martin Saint Martin may refer to: People * Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France * Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal) * Pope Martin I (598–655) * Saint Martin ...

and attended Saint Martin's Elementary School. At the age of 20, he left the island to join the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

in London where during 31 years of service he worked in the East End of London and Brixton. He returned to Jersey in 1991.

States of Jersey

In 2005 to 2007, Hill chaired the

Social Affairs

scrutiny panel Scrutiny (French: ''scrutin''; Late Latin: ''scrutinium''; from ''scrutari'', meaning "those who search through piles of rubbish in the hope of finding something of value" and originally from the Latin "scruta," meaning "broken things, rags, or ...

. An inquiry by the panel into the role of centeniers in the

Magistrate's Court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cour ...

led to the Hill's resignation as chairman over his plans to publish a legal opinion on the compatibility of practice in the Jersey court with the Convention right to a fair trial. The panel continued with the inquiry, publishing a report that quickly led to reforms in court procedures. Hill called for the

assembly to establish an official body to have oversight of the operation of the Human Rights (Jersey) Law 2000. When this proposal failed, Hill set up the unofficial Jersey Human Rights Group in 2009. He campaigned on other human rights issues, including prisoners' rights. Hill successfully proposed an inquiry into the constitutional role of the

Bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

and other Crown officers who are unelected members of the

assembly. A panel, chaired by

Lord Carswell Robert Douglas Carswell, Baron Carswell, PC (born 28 June 1934) is a retired Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. Early life The son of Alan and Nance Carswell was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and Pembroke College, Oxford, whe ...

, reported in 2010 making far-reaching recommendations for reform. In 2009, Hill successfully campaigned for reforms in the handling of public sector employees who are suspended from work in Jersey. His proposal for full public inquiry into the suspension of Jersey's chief of police, Graham Power, in relation to the major investigation into historic child abuse, failed though an internal inquiry found that there had been procedural irregularities. In 2011, the States' assembly rejected Hill's proposals make it easier for people to claim compensation for injuries caused by badly maintained roads.

Electoral history

He was elected as Deputy of

in six successive elections between 1993 and 2008. He failed to win re-election in October 2011.

Honours

Hill was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

in 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Bob Deputies of Jersey Human rights in Jersey People from Saint Martin, Jersey Living people 1940 births