Nicked for throwing a slice of cucumber. Hauled before the courts for breaking a broom handle. Arrested for possessing a plastic toy pistol.

These and many more petty offences were a big topic at the annual conference of the Police Federation of England & Wales in Blackpool last week. The federation branded such arrests the "ludicrous" result of Government police targets.

In her speech to the conference, federation chairman Jan Berry said the cases above "should have been dealt with by a quiet word and good old-fashioned common sense". She added: "As a result of Government diktats the police service has been reduced to a bureaucratic, target-chasing, points-obsessed arm of Whitehall; debasing what was once a sensible police service."

Picking on easy targets

Her point echoed criticisms made by Rod Morgan shortly after his resignation as chair of the Youth Justice Board. Morgan said Government pressure meant officers were seeking out "low hanging fruit", in other words children and young people committing minor crimes, to fulfil targets.

Richard Garside, director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College, London, agrees with the assessment: "There's growing evidence of children being arrested for minor offences. It's not surprising if there's a crude target and a lot of pressure to hit it. People will find the easiest way to meet that target, it's human nature."

The federation's attack on target-based policing has coincided with the latest publication from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, Debating Youth Justice: From punishment to problem solving?

The report, based on proposals produced by former Youth Justice Board member Rob Allen, calls for a rethink of the criminal justice system for teenagers in England and Wales.

As well as pressing for an increase in the age of criminal responsibility and an end to putting children in prison, Allen calls for greater use of restorative justice as an alternative to hauling children before the courts for petty and minor offences, particularly in schools and care homes, which are increasingly using the police to deal with troublesome young people.

Restorative justice focuses on bringing the offender and victim together in a bid to get the offender to admit to and make amends for their crime.

The Children's Society's Circles Project in Dudley is one initiative already trying out Allen's proposal. The project helps teach staff in schools, foster homes and residential children's homes how to use restorative justice to solve problems rather than resorting to using the police.

Treasa Reilly, programme manager of the Circles Project, says looked-after children are over-represented in the criminal justice system and one reason is the legal status of children's homes.

"Children living in public care can be done for criminal damage in their own bedroom or for breach of the peace in their sitting room," she explains. "We try to give children's homes support to run a restorative justice conference, so the children make amends but don't have to carry the label of 'criminal'."

John Fassenfelt, chair of the Magistrates' Association's youth courts committee, agrees restorative justice could help keep young people who commit petty crimes out of the courts, particularly looked-after children. "We're noticing more children coming to courts from schools as well as care homes. Fights in the playground that, a few years ago, were dealt with by teachers are now going to the police," he says.

Fassenfelt points out that the Care Matters green paper suggests the Government will do more for care homes by helping them train staff, recruit local mentors and introduce proper disciplinary procedures. "The association welcomes that. However, recently the Youth Justice Board asked the Treasury for cash from the Invest to Save Budget to pilot this in care homes, but didn't get the money," he says. "I'm worried this will be all talk and no money."

While the Treasury didn't back the Youth Justice Board's bid, it has funded some smaller scale pilots by Leicestershire Youth Offending Service. A Youth Justice Board spokeswoman says extra support for children's homes is important. "Staff in children's homes do have a duty of care to other children in the home, and they also often have a fear about their own liability if they restrain a child themselves. It's important to be mindful of the circumstances they work in and calling the police is not usually their first resort."

Evidence of effectiveness

But are restorative justice methods really the answer? Evidence about the effectiveness of restorative justice is patchy, a point raised by some of the youth justice experts who contributed to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies' report.

"It's true the evidence base of restorative justice is fairly thin, but recent research shows evidence of positive benefits," says Garside. "Should we be asking what's the best conceivable approach that can be devised, or what can we do that is better than the current system? Often the debate on youth justice is polarised between those who want to be hard and tough, and those who want to do nothing. Youth justice doesn't have to be a choice between these two extremes."

KEY POINTS

- Rob Allen's report was first published in November last year

- The new version contains reactions to his proposals from a range of people in the youth justice and children's sector

- The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies' report is available from www.kcl.ac.uk/ccjs.