Madam, - I am writing in response to Garret FitzGerald's article "Vigilante groups may be given control of law" (Opinion & Analysis, January 21st).
It is simply untrue to say that the Northern Ireland Office rejected proposals by the Police Service of Northern Ireland requiring restorative justice schemes to co-operate directly with the police.
The draft guidelines that I published last month unambiguously specify the involvement of the police and other statutory criminal justice organisations in the operation of community-based schemes.
The guidelines were also written and agreed by all the criminal justice agencies in Northern Ireland, including the PSNI. Claims that this will lead to a "two-tier" policing structure are completely without foundation. There was no private agreement with Sinn Féin to back community restorative justice activities.
The reality is that, currently, restorative justice schemes operate outside the criminal justice system and are self-regulating. These guidelines are designed to bring them into conformity with normal criminal justice standards and hold them up to independent scrutiny.
No CRJ project will be eligible to receive any Government funding for its activities to address issues related to low-level criminality unless they sign up to, implement and adhere to the guidelines which will be finalised following consultation with all interested parties. The consultation closes on February 24th.
No decisions will be made as to the next steps in this process until Government has fully considered all the views expressed by respondents. - Yours, etc,
DAVID HANSON MP, Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office, Stormont Castle, Belfast.