The Thames Valley Probation Service has helped halve the number of criminals who are re-offending according to a new report by the University of Sheffield’s Centre for Criminological Research, on their Restorative Justice programme.

The report  states that 78 per cent of victims who took part said they’d recommend it to others and 72 per cent said the conference had given them a sense of closure.

The meetings led to a 55 per cent reduction in reconvictions for violent offenders on community sentences and a 33 per cent reduction in similar offences for ex-prisoners.

Thames Valley Chief Probation Officer Gerry Marshall said: “I’m delighted with the results and the positive message this sends to the public. I’m also pleased the pilot work has continued and in the Thames Valley, unlike many other parts of the country, restorative justice is offered to the courts as a ‘specified activity’, which means it can legally be imposed as part of a community sentence.”

The results were announced at a conference at the Cambridge University Institute of Criminology. Many offenders said meeting their victim in a controlled conference had been a tipping point, making them realise the harm of their offences.