It was aimed at legal practitioners: judges, justice’s clerks and executives, barristers, solicitors, police, probation, local authorities and all who worked within the magistrate’s and criminal court systems.

The Justice of the Peace (JP) magazine continuously reported for 172 years all aspects of the law for the magisterial and criminal courts, since first published in 1837.

When it ended, it was the oldest legal weekly journal in England and Wales, and read by those making decisions in their specialist areas within the Criminal Justice System.

First published by Shaw and Co, with the aim of providing the legal community with a "universal medium of communication" the magazine set out to provide certainty of the speediest information upon all subjects falling under the respective cognizance of its readership ((1837) 1 JPN 1).The magazine moved to Butterworths in the early 20th century and during the Second World War, it was produced at West Dean House (Butterworths & Co were evacuated to West Sussex during the war).

Past editors: William Eagle,[5] John Mee Mathew,[6] J. L. Jellicoe,[7] T. W. Saunders,[8] Charles Clark,[9] D. D. Keane,[10] James A Foot[11] J.