[SMU Professor of Sociology and Dean of Students, Paulin Straughan was amongst the 86 Justices of the Peace appointed by President Halimah Yacob on 24 April at the Istana]. This brings the total number of Justices of the Peace to 185. Justices of the Peace are "outstanding Singaporeans who have made significant contributions in their professions, the public service, social services and the community at large," said the Ministry of Home Affairs in a press release. They serve as visiting justices of Singapore's prisons, volunteer court mediators in the State Courts, or marriage solemnisers appointed through the Registry of Marriages.