A SPECIAL event is taking place in Bradford on Monday to mark International Restorative Justice Week.

Bradford Council's Restorative Justice Hub co-ordinator Kate Brooksbank will be part of a discussion at a University of Bradford event on the theme of forgiveness, which takes place on November 16.

The PPC (Programme for a Peaceful City) Peace Hub & Faculty of Social Sciences will screen award-winning documentary Beyond Forgiving which tells the story of two South Africans trying to bring healing and reconciliation to their country post-Apartheid.

This will be followed by the discussion between Kate Brooksbank and Ali Gohar of Just Peace Initiatives.

Restorative Justice aims to help victims of crime move forward and to rehabilitate offenders by setting up meetings between both parties. Offenders learn the impact of their actions and victims get to tell them how the crime has affected them.

In Bradford, the hub is run as a partnership between Bradford Council and the Ministry of Justice, and the work is supported by 60 volunteers who have given more than 2,000 hours of their own time to set up and co-ordinate meetings between the offender and victim.

They regularly deal with cases of low-level crime, anti-social behaviour, and neighbour disputes.

Representatives of Bradford's team have also been invited to the Restorative Justice Council's annual meeting in London on Wednesday, November 18, where they will be presented with a quality mark in recognition of their work in the district.

The success of the scheme has led to it securing funding from the Office of the Police and Crime Commission to expand the hub, and it is hoped that it will become a centre of excellence in restorative practice and services for victims of crime and anti-social behaviour across the district.

Councillor Arshad Hussain, executive member for neighbourhoods and community safety, said: "It has been proven in Bradford that restorative justice can make a real difference to people's lives, whether they are a victim or offender, helping them move forward in a positive way.

"Restorative Justice Week aims to raise awareness of this notion and in Bradford we can be proud that we have been recognised as an example of good practice."

The latest figures show that as of December 2014, Bradford's Restorative Justice Hub has a 90 per cent victim satisfaction level from those who have used the service. In addition 95 per cent of offenders who took part in restorative justice meetings have not reoffended.