TH E police’s youth restorative justice system has its place in the armoury of sanctions against criminals, but there will always be some suspicion about its use.

Many people will look at it and question why it is used if the offender is prepared to admit their guilt. We have courts and they are there to deal with wrongdoers, goes the logic.

However, sometimes there is merit to the argument that in a moment of stupidity someone has made a mistake. And, if the victim can be reassured the offender has learnt their lesson and will not commit other crimes, is it always right to weigh down someone’s life with a criminal conviction?

But it should be, as Thames Valley Police’s website says, be for low-level crimes.

The figures we produce today – which show they have been used for sex crimes, robbery and arson amongst the 3,258 cases dealt with in the past five years – will just arm those who feel they are overused.

Robbery, for adults at least, is a crime so serious that it can only be dealt with in the Crown Court.

It must be expected that the officers dealing with these cases have looked at the details of each offence and they do indeed meet the definition of low level in the main.

But where the police rather undermine their credibility is the admission that the peak year of 2010 could have partly been down to some criminals going through the restorative programme on more than one occasion.

That beggars belief because clearly giving them a chance has not worked.

If the police are to use systems like this, they must be robust enough to retain public confidence.

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