Norwich to set up Community Justice Panel for petty offenders

Petty crime offenders in Norwich are to be handed a route of staying out of the courts in Norwich - if they publicly apologise for their behaviour and put right the damage they have caused.

The city is on the verge of setting up a Community Justice Panel where low-level offenders would have the option of staying out of the criminal justice system and avoiding a criminal record by saying sorry for their actions and agreeing to carry out reparation.

Minor criminal damage such as graffiti or anti-social behaviour are among the crimes that would qualify to be dealt with by the panel under proposals being put forward to Norwich City Council this week by deputy Lib Dem leader, the Rev Hereward Cooke tomorrow and set to be backed by ruling Labour councillors.

Offenders would be given the chance to admit their guilt before a panel of local people, apologise, and have a punishment set by the panel. It might include being told to clean up the graffiti they have caused, or repair their act of vandalism. It has already been tried in Somerset, where the government's chief legal adviser has praised the scheme.

Read this full item from Eastern Daily Press here

Read more about Somerset's experience here