WHERE IS JUSTICE ?

More and more, we are being made subservient to the police.

Already, police have the right to issue 'fixed penalty notices' for speeding offences and now it's proposed to extend this power to a variety of other driving offences. Under the scheme, the opinion of a police officer will be sufficient to lead to the issue of a fine and 3 point penalty; in most cases, it seems unlikely that there'll be any actual evidence that an offence was committed, just the say-so of a policeman.

The accused will still have the right to refuse the fixed penalty and opt to go to court, but such a course of action will undoubtedly result in a guilty verdict and a greater penalty, theoretically to make up for the waste of the court's time supposedly involved.

Am I alone in thinking this continued move away from 'trial by jury', or even by magistrate, is anything but just or justified ? Am I alone in being unhappy that we are increasingly subject to the whims of police officers when it comes to being found guilty of a range of offences ? Am I alone in believing that we are increasingly being pressured into accepting guilt and a penalty without any trial, under the threat of receiving a larger penalty IF we are convicted in court ? Is this proper justice ?