STUDENTS at the University of Bolton are doing their bit to restore justice in the local community, thanks to an innovative new scheme.

Sixteen psychology students are taking part in the Neighbourhood Justice Panel, a programme which works to settle local disputes and minor crimes, without the need to go to court.

The programme is a partnership which started last year with Greater Manchester Police, and is designed to stop repeat offending and instead provide a quicker resolution where the offender makes a reconciliation.

The process is suitable for adults and youths and is facilitated by trained community volunteers.

The panels encourage wrongdoers to acknowledge the impact of what they have done and make amends to the victim and wider community.

Sergeant Jonathan Seeds, who attended the training day and advised the students, said: ‘The restorative justice scheme brings the reality of what an offender has done much more to light than the traditional route of going to court. We want young adults who have offended to change their behaviour, move forward with their lives and be valuable members of the Bolton community.’

The programme proved to be a tremendous success with the first group of students having worked on over 20 cases in the past year.

The project which is being overseen by Dr Gill Allen, associate teaching professor in psychology and programme lead of BSc (Hons) in Criminological and Forensic Psychology said: "We specifically selected students from the first year as we’re hopeful they’ll commit to the programme for the full duration of their studies.

"They will develop their skills over the three years, but will be in a position to then pass that knowledge on to other students."