How Can DIY Punishment Reduce Form Filling

I WRITE in response to your front page story entitled DIY Punishment. What is quite obvious is that the proposed scheme will not reduce the form filling and time taken by the police as suggested by Councillor Brown. Before any act of reparation can be e

I WRITE in response to your front page story entitled DIY Punishment. What is quite obvious is that the proposed scheme will not reduce the form filling and time taken by the police as suggested by Councillor Brown.

Before any 'act of reparation' can be entered into, the offender will have to admit his or her guilt and be arrested, it is then that not only will all the form filling required after an arrest be a requirement but there is no doubt that more forms will have to be completed to satisfy the civil servants at the Home Office who produce the rather doubtful statistics which they regularly publish.

A decision as to the use of the scheme can not be decided on the spot like the issue of a Fixed Penalty Ticket; it will require a form of negotiation taking even more time.

Without any supervision from the Probation Service who will ensure that any agreed action actually takes place and be able to say if it had any effect on the defendant, I am certain that many will take this as an easy way out with no advantage to anyone.

PHILIP GOULD

By email