Michael Moore did one of his programmes from the North once and, as usual, he mixed humour with insight. It was just after the IRA ceasefire and he was focusing on the possibilities which were now presenting themselves to the Irish people.
And like many other commentators he plugged away at how bold moves should be made so that the peace process could be enhanced.
And for the whole programme he appealed to those who were involved in the conflict to make the first move and ring the programme to pledge that they would hand over some weaponry. He even offered a prize for the first caller.
As this appeal apparently fell on deaf ears, (it was only a 30-minute programme), Moore became more and more agitated and finally decided to take matters into his own hands and he grabbed a phone book to call up some of the protagonists.
Quite funny, I thought, but the really clever bit was when he phoned up Portadown RUC station and started badgering some poor constable about handing over a few guns. Funny, but also incisive.
Virtually all the media, on TV at least, showed one side, the IRA, as the protagonists, and viewed the RUC as somehow trying to maintain the peace.
Okay, people on the Falls Road or the Creggan may have realised that the RUC were not neutral observers but it was still a revelation to see the RUC out in the open.
It was like seeing for the first time the tiny mouse, which you have heard running about but could not find. They were out in the open.
I was reminded of this programme when I read the British government's proposal for Community Restorative Justice groups.
However unsatisfactory they may be, and some groups have expressed some reservations, they must be welcomed, if only that the British government has finally acknowledged in an official capacity that the RUC/PSNI does not have the legitimacy in all areas of the North.
Even the idea of regulating Community Restorative Justice schemes adds an official legitimacy, which, while they are not seeking it, adds to their credibility.
The way the PSNI and the RUC used anti-social behaviour as a means to control nationalist areas has been well documented in newspapers such as the Andersonstown News and it remains a bone of contention.
It was this inability to deal with real criminality that not only undermined their appeal but left their presence unacceptable in many areas.
And despite the ceasefire and the IRA declaration earlier this year it has not become apparent that the PSNI are any different today than the RUC was 30 years ago. Ask Francie Brolly or those framed for the Stormont spyring if you don't believe me.
Community Restorative Justice schemes are a vital way of dealing with criminality in the six-county setting but they have also led the way in developing innovative ways of dealing with low level crime in other societies and can be seen as a template for when we have an acceptable police service.
If there is one problem with the proposals it is that there is an almost unwritten acceptance that the day when we do get the acceptable police service which is sorely needed seems to be still a far-off dream.
There is a danger that we will accept these new proposals for restorative justice as the solution rather than being seen as only one half of the answer.
The communities in which they operate have to come out clearly and let the British government know that we will not be fobbed off with only a half-hearted response to the problems of policing. This is not an either/or question and the British government should not treat it as such.
