Ranchito Village, Corozal District, Tues. July 27, 2021– Today, Tuesday, July 27, 44 persons from the Corozal District were sworn in as Justices of the Peace. These new Justices of the Peace were hand-picked by their communities and now join the over 100 persons who became Justices of the Peace in the last month.

Noting the important role the Justices of the Peace (JP) play in the community, the national president of the Association of Justices of the Peace, Adrian Danny Madrid, recently stated, “The new JPs have to attend training because training is very important. The JPs who are not trained are the ones that go out there and make a lot of mistakes. So we want to avoid that because if you read the act, the act tells you that you need to commit yourself.”

Madrid noted that an error on the part of a Justice of the Peace can result in that JP being sentenced to as much as six months in prison or being fined to the tune of $500. Madrid said that he wants to prevent such occurrences, so he is adamant that the new Justices of the Peace attend these training sessions.

JP’s play an important role in authenticating documents, and they also assist members of the police department in the process of making arrests and interviewing witnesses of crimes.

At the swearing-in ceremony for these 44 new JPs, the Attorney General, Hon. Magali Marin Young, reminded the public that these individuals are providing a free service, and should not demand payment for their services. “It is important that they bear in mind that it is a community service. There is no remuneration for this, and there should be no solicitation of remuneration for this service,” the Attorney General said.