When Wayne Wood's home in Darwin's northern suburbs was broken into earlier this year, his wife was livid.
"She was so angry," Mr Wood recalled.
"She said as far as she was concerned, we should bring the rattan [cane] from Singapore [to punish the offenders]."
The couple had been watching tennis on television at night, when several young people entered their home, stole a wallet and purse and took their car for a high-speed joy ride.
When the juveniles were caught, one of the offenders was given an alternative to incarceration: meet his victims face-to-face and hear firsthand how they had been affected by his actions.
The initiative is known as victim-offender conferencing.
Fifteen court-ordered conferences have taken place in the Northern Territory since the Government rolled out the new diversionary program in April.
"The kids find it incredibly challenging coming face-to-face with the person they've hurt," said Jared Sharp from Jesuit Social Services, which runs the program.
"They are often confronted by victims of crime who are really angry and want the young people to see the impact of their actions."
Mr Wood said his victim-offender conference made an impact.
"They got the kid sitting in there and he was in tears because I said to him 'didn't it ever occur to you when you were driving on the wrong side of the road at 150 kilometres per hour ... that you could kill somebody, or worse still, you could kill yourself?'" he said.
"And I think that brought home to him that there was a lot more involved than simply stealing someone's car or taking their stuff."
It also gave Mr Wood a chance to direct his feelings towards the perpetrator.
"[The conferences are] more for the victims because we were [previously] denied a voice, and now through the program ... we feel we can speak out and say, 'I'm angry about this'."
Promising outcomes
Of the 15 conferences conducted so far, one offender has committed crimes again.
But Mr Sharp said recidivism rates at this early stage of the program should not be the measurement of success.
Instead, he pointed to the outcome plans that were developed by the young offenders.
"In every single one of our conferences so far, the young person has come and they've agreed to an outcome plan," Mr Sharp said.
"And that outcome plan involves some form of making amends to a victim, whether by way of a verbal apology, a written apology, painting a painting, writing a card, making something for the victim or doing community work."
The 16-year-old offender in Mr Wood's case created an artwork.
"He painted a lovely picture of a cat for my wife," he said.
He said after initially refusing to attend the conference, his wife now saw merit in the program.
'I feel like I know him'
Shirley Downing, 85, is another victim who felt "violated, angry and fearful" after her car was stolen from her Darwin home.
She has since had a conference with one of the offenders, who wrote her a letter to apologise.
"I feel I know him like a son," she said, before reassessing her comment.
"Well, I don't know him like a son, but I do feel that I know the situation, or similar situation from which he has come."
The program has funding for 65 victim-offender conferences over the next year.
