FOR a long time people have felt that justice was not being seen to be done for many crimes of varying severity.

That disconnection from the law hasn’t helped either law and order in our communities or the job of the police and other services in administering it.

The signs are that restorative justice – giving victims of crime power to determine the justice handed out to offenders – could well become the standard way to deal with certain crimes.

Sentencing decisions are high on the agenda at the moment with prisons as full as they have ever been and hundreds of people jailed for their part in rioting.

In East Lancashire, restorative justice schemes have been used for years along with community service sentences.

In Accrington, police have ordered a burglar to meet his victims and he has apologised.

Moves like this can have a huge effect on the victims, while it is hoped it could bring about a change in behaviour in the criminal themselves.

Creative sentencing options must be explored as an alternative to jail sentences for lesser crimes.

Restorative justice schemes aim to teach offenders a lesson while, probably more importantly, it makes the victim feel that someone really is paying for what they’ve done, and not just monetarily.

There is a better sense of justice and, ultimately, closure.