(2) what the ages have been of the young people who have appeared before restorative peer panels in (a) Preston and (b) England since the hearings started;
(3) how many cases have been (a) heard and (b) resolved by restorative peer panels in (i) Preston and (ii) England since the hearings started;
(4) for which offences restorative peer panels may be used;
(5) which contract options have been taken up by young people appearing before restorative peer panels in (a) Preston and (b) England since their inception.
The peer panel project in Preston is still in its very early stages and there have been relatively few young people referred to it to date. The expectation however is that numbers will increase as the project develops. The Invest to Save Bid monies have been allocated to the project in Preston alone. In answer to the individual questions:
no young people to date have broken the terms of the agreement they reached with the panel
the ages of young people appearing before a peer panel have ranged from 11 to 16
there have been 15 panel meetings to date involving people aged under 18; four have been completed, four are still proceeding and seven have been referred back to the referring officer as the young person did not attend peer panels can be used for a variety of offences but are particularly suitable for “quality of life low-level offences” such as vandalism, minor shoplifting and also for bullying and other school related matters. They are not used for serious matters.
the options taken up to date include, apologising to the victim verbally or in writing, agreeing to change behaviour, payment for the damage caused, to act responsibly on public transport in future and to work with a mentor to facilitate a return to school. There have also been agreements to attend local agencies to address issues which affect the young person.