Justice schemes used to exert control

THE International Monitoring Commission (IMC) expressed concern yesterday that paramilitaries are using some neighbourhood justice schemes in the North as cover to control communities.

The ceasefire watchdog repeated its view that restorative justice schemes, which bring the perpetrators of low level crime face to face with victims in their areas, have a role to play in the criminal justice system.

But the commissioners said they had been made aware of a number of cases where restorative justice was being used to enable paramilitaries to exert their influence over areas. In some cases, victims of crime or alleged offenders felt they were being threatened by people in the schemes with paramilitary links.