A PILOT scheme where 'youth juries' decide how to punish yobs is being launched in Lancashire.
Young people alleged to have caused trouble will be able to ask for their case to be heard by a jury of people their own age as part of the scheme.
Students aged between 10 and 17 who sit on the jury could then order the teenager to pay cash, clean up graffiti or write a letter of apology to their victim.
The pilot, which is being led by Nacro, the crime reduction charity, is taking place in Preston initially from December.
The scheme is one of several pilots across the country, including a further scheme organised by Cheshire Police which will allow victims of crime to demand a face-to-face apology from offenders.
It has been inspired by similar schemes in America which follow the theory that young people are more influenced by peer pressure to change their ways than adults.
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