> whether we let them deal with it themselves or have an authority with a uniform and a badge who is supposed to be trustworthy enough to handle it

a trial by jury is the closest thing i think to a compromise between those two, where someones societal peers decide whether there even is a conflict and then who is "guilty"

a trustworthy person is needed to haul the relevant parties to the quorum and then deal with punishments, though with cell phones and cameras everywhere these days...