Backed by the Magistrates’ Association and coincides with the 650th anniversary of JPs. Essential reading for criminal justice practitioners, this is a key text at a critical time for government and the courts and is supported by a substantial media campaign. A celebratory volume and collection piece. After 650 years justices of the peace find themselves at a crossroads. This book looks at the role of one of the UK’s oldest institutions in a rapidly changing world. Well-informed, thought-provoking and published at a critical time when government is looking to find ever more efficient and cost-effective ways to deliver justice, this book by leading commentators from the courts, universities, the media and the magistracy itself examines the options for the future. It looks at economic and other pressures as well as demands for new kinds of community justice and changing ideas about public and voluntary service. It’s sheer breadth, expertise and diversity of views means it will be in demand across the criminal justice system as the best word on the subject. What is the modern-day role of the magistracy and how might it better serve the citizens to whom it ultimately belongs? From an age-old institution as a bastion of democracy to the idea that there should be fresh avenues of engagement and a greater sense of a fairness and transparency, each of the distinguished contributors’ chapters adds to the considerable value of a highly innovative and readable work.