I spent another day in court yesterday in my new role as a justice of the peace and I have to say that I so enjoy the experience though it can be quite hard at times. Yesterday we dealt with fine defaulters. Across the country the amount of unpaid fines is huge and it seems to me that in many aspects the criminal justice system in general isn’t working. This morning on the radio I heard a report about an innovative scheme in Peterborough where those released from prison will be offered a mentor to help them readjust into society in the hope that re-offending rates – which are very high at the moment – decrease. We also know that the current government wants to send less people to prison on short sentences – quite refreshing!

I was interested to read this blog post on the Clarion site on Wednesday which addresses the link between society’s view of punishment with Christian theology and suggesting that the system has been an outright failure because of our emphasis on punishment instead of restoration. Here’s the link. It’s a challenge to our thinking. Any comments?