And community justice campaigners think the guidelines, issued this week to police forces, will end the inconsistency that has plagued previous police warning schemes.
Glasgow, Central and Fife police have been at the forefront of restorative justice practice for young offenders. Police, victims groups, Scotland's Crown Office and the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration, which oversees the children's hearings system, were all involved in drawing up the guidelines.
Keith Simpson, head of service development at the community safety charity Sacro (Safeguarding communities - reducing offending), welcomed the approach and said it complemented his organisation's own restorative justice projects, which run around the country.
Scotland's justice minister, Cathy Jamieson, said there was evidence that restorative justice was more effective than traditional police warnings in reducing re-offending.
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