There is something in the theory that the fear of crime is often worse for many people than crime itself.

That doesn't take anything away from the fact that people who are the victims of crime - even supposed "low level" offences, do feel very vulnerable and threatened when an incident happens, and can continue to do so long after the event.

Perhaps that is part of the "fear of crime" theory - that even something like a pick-pocketing can cause a person to fear every stranger who brushes past them in the street or mistrust innocent passers-by.

The work of the Neighbourhood Resolution Panels in Bradford, therefore, which brings victims of crimes face-to-face with the perpetrators, does a valuable job in dispelling some of this fear.

As well as low-level crime such as theft and vandalism, the panels also bring together warring neighbours to try to broker peace, and allow residents to speak to those who continually cause public disorder.

Such meetings allow the victims to gain some kind of closure from the incident and those responsible to see the very human effects of their actions - and to make full and proper apologies for what they have done.

Obviously, not everyone who has been the victim of crime will want to take part in such restorative justice processes, nor is every incident suitable for such treatment.

But where there is a willingness on both sides to move forward, these panels do allow several parties to see that everyone involved is part of the same community and it is much better for people to rub along together rather than cause each other problems.