A scheme which aimed to turn young offenders away from crime by showing them the distress and damage their offences caused, has been dropped in Maidstone.

The Youth Crime Diversion Programme (YCDP) has been running in the town for the past eight years. Based on the idea of “resorative justice” it brought criminal together with victim.

It was used to deal with issues including shoplifting and vandalism and forced the offender to explain his or her actions.

It would usually end with an official reprimand or final warning rather than a criminal conviction.

Ch Insp David Pascoe, Borough Commander for Maidstone said the YCDP had been an excellent initiative when it was introduced. But since then there had been many changes in the processes and procedures available to the police when dealing with offenders.

He added: “These changes include the introduction of street bail, where suspects can be dealt with efficiently, without having to attend the police station there and then.

“Fixed penalty notices have been brought in for some minor offences, as well as conditional cautions and the introduction of a corporate final warning process. This raft of new measures of dealing with offenders prompted a review of the process.

“Members of the community, particularly those associated with Maidstone Town centre and Maidstone Mediation, have heavily supported the Youth Crime Diversion Programme and I would like to thank them for their commitment over the past eight years.”

However, the decision to scrap the scheme has surprised town centre bosses.

Paul Alcock, chairman of Maidsafe, said: “Myself and other members of Town Centre Management have worked on YCDP for over seven years and have felt that we have contributed to a large amount of young people not re-offending.

“The decision to stop the scheme came as a surprise, considering its results, but we understand that things move on and there is only so much that police can do with their budgets.”