Just what does restorative justice restore?

from the entry by TheJusticeofthePeace:

Whenever a country is governed in a manner at odds with the rule of law even if its government has been honestly or dishonestly elected inevitably the word[s] used to describe it is police state. This is no idle figure of speech. The phrase tells it as it is. Police as the civilian arm of law and order provide the trigger finger of a government when force is required. There is virtually nothing which more disturbs the democratic underbelly of a country like ours as the use perceived or actual of excessive or unlawful force by police.

The G20 demonstration and its aftermath were proof if proof were needed. The bussing in of massive numbers of police during the miners` strike of 1984/5 is to this day a rallying cry for militant socialism. The authority of the legal process as understood by the majority law abiding population has been fatally undermined eg by the blatant and admitted use of speed cameras as revenue raisers as compared to their proponents vain and repeated assertions of their primary function as essential requirements for road safety. CCTV cameras being employed for all manner of dubious purposes to the detriment of individual privacy far in excess of their sometimes dubious assistance in deterring criminal activity are another example of judge, jury and sentence by rote.

All this can be encapsulated by the wide ranging powers of apprehension, judgement and sentence represented by the use of tens of thousands poorly educated, poorly paid and often poorly trained uniformed individuals to police our towns and cities where once upon a time a real police officer did the job usually with good humour, honesty and a great deal of tact when the culprit was obviously committing a minor misdemeanour and not by any stretch of the imagination a criminal offence by any other term.

Jul 01, 2010 Conceptual, Distinguishing, Theory

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