... Valley Police has been organising 'conferences' to promote these ends for some years. Now, under the 1999 Act, the youth offender panels, consisting of one member of the local Youth Offending Team (YOT) together with two members of the community, are attempting the same thing in a slightly different way. Young people are referred by the court to appear before them, with provision for victim involvement during the ensuing discussion about the reasons for offences, the reparation that may be made, and any courses or other facilities available to assist development, and thus reintegration. [Reparation can involve helping or working directly for victims, or doing something for the community. Apologies are regarded as an important part of reparation, since if they are genuine they should lessen the chance of reoffending, which is something the research shows victims want most of all. However, there are concerns about the need for various ...

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