MORE court cases in the North-East should be resolved by meetings between victims and offenders, according to the Law Lords..
Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer will encourage such methods, known as restorative justice, when he addresses a meeting of magistrates in Newcastle.
He will outline four pilot schemes carried out by Northumbria Police, looking at violent crimes or offences against property.
Allowing victims to confront offenders, the meetings focus on agreements about how the offenders could repair the harm they have done.
The tests are part of a nationwide initiative.
Also appearing at the conference will be Northumbria Police Deputy Chief Constable Michael Craik, courts executive Jeffrey Young, and Professor Lawrence W. Sherman, of the University of Pennsylvania, who will present results of similar pilot schemes in Australia and the US.
The forum takes place in the Kings Hall at the University of Newcastle, at 3pm tomorrow.
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