Scheme deters young shoplifters

Juvenile shoplifters are to be guided away from a life of crime as a new retail crime scheme gets under way in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

First time juvenile offenders are being given the chance to take part in a Retail Crime Diversion Programme.

The restorative justice scheme offers youngsters advice and helps them to understand the impact of their actions.

On Monday, a 12-year-old girl and a boy, 11, caught shoplifting became the first youngsters to begin the course.

'Cycle of crime'

The sessions, held at Banbury police station, involve young people talking to a restorative justice-trained police officer and a store manager.

If they need further guidance they are then referred to other agencies, including youth workers, health visitors, and drugs and alcohol outreach workers.

The whole process, which is aimed at turning their lives around and cutting crime in the town centre, takes between two and three weeks.

At the end of the scheme the youngster will receive a caution for the initial offence.

Pc Heather Turner, from Thames Valley Police, said: "This is a new way to tackle the problem of retail crime offenders.

"Hopefully by using restorative justice methods with first-time offenders we can make significant progress in breaking the cycle of crime while helping them with any problems they may have by referring them onto expert agencies."