There are steadily becoming fewer and fewer reasons for the young people of Bradford to complain that they are sidelined and overlooked. Just ten days ago plans were announced for a special "parliament" made up of youthful elected delegates to sit at City Hall, make decisions and run its own budget for the benefit of the city's younger generation.

And now comes an appeal for 60 young people to join Youth Offender Panels and decide punishments to be handed out to juvenile criminals from their own communities.

The thinking behind the scheme is sound and sensible. As the Youth Offending Team manager in Bradford, Paul O'Hara, says, young people are more likely to understand the pressures and needs faced by others of their generation and should be better able than older people to help them to understand that their behaviour simply isn't acceptable.

As one of the prospective panel members puts it, dealing with people who are almost their peers could set offenders off on the road to a better life.

Actually, it will be a two-way street. The experience of serving on one of these panels should prove invaluable for the young people who put themselves forward. They will gain extremely useful insights which could serve them well as they progress through life.

The community as a whole should also benefit in the long term through producing a growing number of highly-motivated young adults who are committed, conscientious contributors to society able to demonstrate to others of their generation just how they can make a positive difference to their home city.