Richard S. makes some telling points about the recent CRB records errors at IdealGovernment.
"Increasingly, government officials and agencies can impose severe penalties, bypassing the normal legal process. This is portrayed as "streamlining," "modernising," "reducing costs" etc. However, there seems to be very little concern about people who are wrongly accused or punished in this way. The traditional legal process has evolved checks & balances, safeguards & appeal processes. Aspects of the legal process are unsatisfactory, but it's surprising that a government composed largely of lawyers should seek to bypass the legal process rather than improve it.
People wrongly caught by these extra-judicial penalties currently get very little sympathy or compensation from our over-powerful state. This failure of government to acknowledge or to take responsibility for errors bodes very badly for the introduction ID cards...
we have a government IT system which relies on gossip, confuses people who have similar names, and wrecks people's lives: Innocent people whose reputations are sullied by this process get very little redress.
Doesn't sound Ideal.
Compared with previous processes and precautions, what has the CRB achieved?
The Wibbis:
1. Where at all possible, the traditional legal process should be followed.
2. The traditional legal process should be improved rather than bypassed.
3. Justice should be provided by the state; not contracted-out to commercial organizations.
4. People must have an opportunity to correct glaring errors.
5. Justice & appeals should be speedy.
6. Where the state causes harm, it must take responsibility, put matters right and compensate for loss."
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