'Restorative Justice' gives victims the chance to tell offenders the real impact of their crime, to get answers to their questions and to receive an apology.
Longridge's new community beat manager PC Paul Worswick has been gradually introducing the scheme over the past two months.
The initiative is intended to give offenders the chance to understand the real impact of what they've done and to do something to repair the harm. It also holds offenders to account for what they have done, personally and directly, and helps victims to get on with their lives.
Although PC Worswick says it is early days, he believes Restorative Justice has been well received by both victims and offenders.
He says he has used it in relation to a number of crimes including damage and even bullying, where he brought the girl and boy involved in the bullying incident together.
He said: "We give the aggrieved the opportunity to explain how the incident has affected them personally so that the offender can learn from their mistake and it obviously gives them the chance to apologise.
"They can talk about any other issues and it gives them both the opportunity to speak to each other and sort out their problems. The police are there to act as intermediaries.
"It is a voluntary thing and obviously we can't force the offender or the aggrieved to meet up, but we have found that it appears to be working well. It gives the aggrieved some kind of closure with some questions answered.
"Offenders realise and appreciate what damage both physically and mentally they have done to the aggrieved. Hopefully, listening to what the aggrieved has to say may influence the offenders in the future."