THE problem of youth crime is dominating the national news at the moment. JILL CROOKS reports on a new way of dealing with young offenders that has shown an 85 per cent success rate when piloted in Wiltshire.

YOUNG offenders will be urged to face up to the effects of their crimes under a new system that was piloted successfully in Wiltshire.

The scheme, called referral orders, is being launched nationally at a time when a number of youths around the country have been named and shamed by the courts in an attempt to stop them terrorising communities.

Referral orders have been operating in Wiltshire for about 18 months, after the county was chosen as one of 11 pilot areas in England and Wales.

Its results so far have been promising with 85 per cent of those who have completed referral orders not reoffending.

The scheme, which is operated by the Wiltshire Youth Offending Team, aims to catch young offenders at the start of their criminal activity and to stamp it out.

First time young offenders those aged ten to 17 who appear in court and plead guilty are given a referral order, unless the offence is so serious it warrants custody.

The referral order means the youngster will be referred to a youth offender panel, made up of two trained volunteers from the local community and a paid official from the Youth Offending Team.

The young person will attend a varying number of panel meetings where he/she will talk about why they committed the offence, how the offence effected others (and for this the victim could be present) and any underlying problems in the young person's life that need to be addressed.

At the end of the meetings a contract will be drawn up which will list activities the young person must undertake to address their behaviour.

Before referral orders were introduced, the courts imposed supervision orders or fines but these were often meaningless because they did not make the young offender face up to his/her actions.

Griff Daniels, a member of the Wiltshire Youth Offending Team who is co-ordinating the scheme, said: "Under the old system a young person went to court and they didn't say a great deal and the victims are not involved."

He added: "Referral orders are a way of the community saying to a young person we actually care about you. The young people strike up a relationship with the panel members and the parents of the young person also feel supported by it.

"For the young person there is no hiding place at the panel meetings. There is no defence solicitor to hide behind. The referral order can be an intense experience. Panel members are ordinary people from the community speaking in ordinary language.

"Having the victim at the panel meetings is in your face reality for the young person.

"The minimum we look for from the young person is an apology, we cannot operate within a framework where there is no apology.

"On the few occasions when we haven't got an apology for the victim we have sent the young person back to court.

"Most people want to know why they have been victims of crime. Once they have had their say the victims usually go away wiser."

Mr Daniels said the referral order scheme was not a soft option. "Most kids want to belong and it is in the interests of the community and society as a whole to keep kids within the fold and to go that extra mile. When they are not in the fold and become disengaged from the community they can be prone to offending."

The referral orders last for three to 12 months and may involve unpaid work in the community and activities to prevent reoffending such as a requirement to attend school or tackling drug misuse.

If successfully completed the conviction becomes spent, which means the young person will not normally have to declare it when applying for jobs. If the contract is not completed then the young person is sent back to court where they could be given a stiffer penalty.

Ellen, a victim, was invited to attend a panel meeting and talk face to face with the offender.

The offender, a 17-year-old youth from the Devizes area, pleaded guilty to inconsiderately driving a motorcycle at Leipzig Plantation on Roundway Hill, Devizes.

Ellen was out walking her dog with her husband when the offence happened.

She said: "I was angry and concerned because what he was doing was seriously stupid. He circled around us a few times and we didn't think he had control of the bike. I had visions of him losing it and he would have crashed into us. The meeting was a positive way forward. I said what I had to say and he apologised to me. I asked him why he did what he did and he said he didn't know, just that it was silly.

"I was pleased that he did say sorry and I was quite happy at the end of the meeting. I shook hands with him and I said I had no hard feelings.

"I felt a bit sorry for him. It must be very difficult to face the person you have perpetrated a crime against."

Father-of-two George Farrar, of Bulford, is a volunteer panel member.

He said: "Eighty per cent of young people who are referred to us show instant remorse. A lot are teenagers going through turmoil at home or at school."