We are in election mode in New Zealand. Law and order will be one of the flavours of the month and we can anticipate sustained advocacy of the need for longer and sterner sentences.  Rarely is it asked whether these have any economic utility or how, at the end of the process, there is going to be a reintegration of people into the community. Except in those cases where people are incarcerated for the term of their natural life, every evil scoundrel will, at some stage, be released from prison.  We put scant emphasis on how that will be achieved and what the consequences will be.  I doubt that these long term consequences will receive much attention. The  position  is  no  different  when  a  business  transaction  goes  sour.  Frequently  the outcome the parties need is assistance to move forward in some way together.  Usually we put people through a draining and pulverising process with insufficient attention to ways in which they can achieve a win-win situation rather than a win- lose or, from the perception of too many participants, lose- lose.    In  Family  Courts  we  have  endeavoured  to  make  moves  in  this  direction.  In  New Zealand  we  have  extensive  mediation  processes  in  labour  disputes  which  me ans  that only a tiny fraction of cases ever get near the courthouse.  The potential for alternative dispute resolution in the general civil and criminal areas has yet to be fully explored.  A willingness  to  see  and  respond  to  the  needs  and  expectations  of   those  forced  into  our Courts is essential.  We cannot continue to expect women and men to fit into our way of doing things.  We must find ways of delivering justice that are meaningful and available and which people can afford.