Justice !

We have a strange sort of justice system in this country.

On too many occasions an individual - or a group of individuals - attacks and delivers a severe beating to a complete stranger they encounter on a city street.

Usually they are affected by alcohol or drugs and thanks to the ever increasing number of CCTV cameras the attackers stand a good chance of being caught and put before a court - and that's where the concept of justice ends.

The judge or magistrate has the option of sending them to gaol, imposing a community service order or selecting a lesser punishment such as a fine - or even a " slap on the wrist " good behaviour bond.

If that option was a fine, the money goes to the government. None of it goes to the victim !

The victim suffers pain from something that was not his or her fault, and in most cases has to pay medical bills - and loss of pay from time off from work. There is an option to sue the assailants but this is rarely taken up because of the costs involved - and the difficulty in extracting money from a successful verdict.

Compensation should be high on the judge or magistrate's options. Apart from imposing a penalty for the law breach the judgement should include reasonable compensation for medical costs and any out of pocket expenses - such as time off from work - as a result of the assault.

Once such compensation is handed down the matter should become the responsibility of the taxation department - just as child support matters are handled - and ten percent of the offender's wages should be garnisheed and paid to the victim until the compensation is completed.

In cases where the offender is not yet in work the order remains in force until the allocation of a tax file number on the first job activates it.

Justice is not served if the victim of a crime is left out of pocket - and under the present system that is precisely what happens in the majority of cases.

It is now time for a law change !