:01:23. > :01:27.Every day of the year, 775 homes are broken into, leaving
:01:27. > :01:32.traumatised victims and taking up vast resources within the criminal
:01:32. > :01:39.justice system. Even if caught and imPresidentened, half the burglars
:01:39. > :01:45.come out -- imprisoned, half the burglars come out and try it again.
:01:45. > :01:51.Is it time to try something different? This is where that
:01:51. > :01:57.social experiment starts, a Sheffield street. Just over eight
:01:57. > :02:02.weeks before, burglars targeted a house here. You can see from here,
:02:02. > :02:06.where the stuff was left, three doors down they carried it over the
:02:06. > :02:10.fence and left it outside the door. Corin, the woman who lives here and
:02:10. > :02:16.Nicola, a friend who happened to be visiting, were burgled while they
:02:16. > :02:22.slept. They only found out there had been a break-in when the police
:02:22. > :02:25.discovered the house keys nearby and knocked on the door. You've
:02:25. > :02:32.opened the door and they've asked you if you've been burgled and you
:02:32. > :02:35.didn't know. We laughed at them, we said "No, why would we have been
:02:35. > :02:40.burgled." We came in here and the TV stand was empty. We're thinking,
:02:40. > :02:43.that's not right. Then you notice the laptop was gone. I could see
:02:43. > :02:49.where they'd been. There were footprints all over the floor.
:02:49. > :02:53.They'd walked to the TV and laptop and gone straight out. The fact
:02:53. > :03:00.they slept through the entire burglary has deeply disturbed Corin
:03:00. > :03:04.and Nicola. For me, the worst part is the fact that we didn't wake up.
:03:04. > :03:08.So you wonder did they come upstairs. Were they just outside
:03:08. > :03:12.the bedroom. You can't get over the thought this they could have been
:03:12. > :03:17.anybody. It could have been a murderer or rapist. There's so many
:03:17. > :03:22.ifs and buts. What will stop anybody doing that again, if I'm on
:03:22. > :03:28.my own. It scared me, frightened me. One burglar was caught and
:03:28. > :03:31.sentenced to six months in prison. Normally, Corin and Nicola would
:03:31. > :03:37.never have met him. Their fears would have remained unresolved and
:03:37. > :03:40.their questions unanswered. they thought they had a right to
:03:40. > :03:44.come into somebody's house, did they think about how much that was
:03:44. > :03:52.going time pact, not just the person who lives there, but the
:03:52. > :03:57.knock-on effect it has on people. And this is their burglar, Tom.
:03:57. > :04:04.He's in Wetherby Young Offenders Institution. Did you expect to ever
:04:04. > :04:10.spend your 18th birthday in a prison cell? My dad would say,
:04:10. > :04:14.you'll be locked up by the time you're 18. Never believed it. Now
:04:14. > :04:18.obviously, my 18th, probably my worst birthday. I guess my own
:04:18. > :04:21.peace of mind as well, I would like to know how he got in and what was
:04:21. > :04:29.he thinking when he took my belongings, what was he going to do
:04:29. > :04:33.with them? The charity Remedi from Sheffield is one of the UK's
:04:33. > :04:37.leading organisers of restorative justice meetings. They're going to
:04:37. > :04:41.bring Tom together with his victims. Being offered the opportunity to
:04:41. > :04:46.ask those questions and seek an answer that it's entirely up to
:04:46. > :04:51.them that they believe, but to have the opportunity to seek an answer
:04:51. > :04:57.can be cathartic from a victim's points of view. Tom's grandmother
:04:57. > :05:01.was recently burgled. That experience spurred him on to meet
:05:01. > :05:06.his victims this morning. Why is it important for you to take part in
:05:06. > :05:12.this process? Just because they've asked me and I can't turn around
:05:12. > :05:18.and say no. All my family's good family. There's only me. They'd be
:05:18. > :05:22.more proud of me if for doing -- me for doing it. Outside Nicola and
:05:22. > :05:26.Corin have come into a prison for the first time in their lives. How
:05:26. > :05:29.are you feeling this morning? nervous when we started going
:05:29. > :05:33.through the gates and security checks. How are you feeling about
:05:33. > :05:38.meeting the young offender today? I've met him this morning and he's
:05:38. > :05:43.keen to meet and talk to you about the burglary? I think that
:05:43. > :05:49.intrigues me more. Yeah. This process is entirely voluntary,
:05:49. > :05:59.offenders get no reduction in their sentence for doing this. When
:05:59. > :06:10.
:06:10. > :06:20.The encounter is being managed by a trained mediator from Remedi. First,
:06:20. > :06:20.
:06:20. > :06:28.the introductions. I'm Corin. It was my house. I'm Nicola, I was
:06:28. > :06:33.staying in Corin's house at the time. I'm Tom. I burgled your house.
:06:33. > :06:39.I just wanted to start with asking what happened from your side?
:06:39. > :06:44.just went out with all me mates. Just went out and then we went, my
:06:44. > :06:50.mate's like "Come on, let's make some money." We'd been walking
:06:50. > :06:56.around. We went in the back garden and your window was open. My mates
:06:56. > :07:00.jumped in. They grabbed your keys. I think, no I think that were it.
:07:01. > :07:06.They opened your door and took all the stuff out. If you've come in
:07:06. > :07:09.and said, I did it and I needed the money for X, Y or Z, we were
:07:09. > :07:16.prepared to empathise with why you did it. The fact it was just for a
:07:16. > :07:21.laugh. That's made me really angry. Really, really angry. I can't
:07:21. > :07:30.empathise with that. Not at all. Just breaking into somebody's home
:07:30. > :07:35.and taking their things for a bit of a laugh. There's still items
:07:35. > :07:45.missing. What happened to them, the things in my handbag? What things?
:07:45. > :07:50.There was a sat nav, my iPod... sat nav got chucked and the iPod,
:07:50. > :07:56.that, it must still be in the police car. In the police car?
:07:56. > :08:00.got chucked under the seat. OK. you know that we were in the house
:08:00. > :08:03.at the time? You couldn't have been out because handbag and that were
:08:03. > :08:09.outside. You must have been in, yeah. Did that not bother you that
:08:09. > :08:12.we were asleep upstairs? No, not really. That's kept me awake at
:08:12. > :08:17.night thinking that somebody could get into a house that I was asleep
:08:17. > :08:22.in and get all the way upstairs to a bedroom door and I wouldn't wake
:08:22. > :08:27.up, so you could have had a knife, a gun, anything and now I wake up
:08:27. > :08:32.when I hear anything in the house at all, thinking, somebody's in the
:08:32. > :08:35.house. What if that was your mum or family member, waking up? It's
:08:35. > :08:39.happened to a family member since I've been in prison. That's why
:08:39. > :08:44.I've accepted to meet you and that, because obviously it was wrong. My
:08:44. > :08:48.Nana has been burgled and that. She wouldn't go out of the house for a
:08:48. > :08:52.week. They weren't even in when it happened. You must feel even worse
:08:52. > :08:57.because you were in the house. you think you've got enough now to
:08:57. > :09:01.put it behind you and not do it again? I just want to get my life
:09:01. > :09:07.back now. I've done my time for it. I just want to get out, get a job,
:09:07. > :09:12.like, make something of myself, make my family proud and that.
:09:12. > :09:18.it helps, we appreciate it. It's put a lot of things sort of, a lot
:09:19. > :09:23.of questions to bed really. Nicola and Corin have had some of
:09:23. > :09:29.their questions answered. But now the meeting is winding up and so
:09:29. > :09:37.far there's been no apology from Tom. Do you have anything you would
:09:37. > :09:46.like to stay, Tom to finalise your talk? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have
:09:46. > :09:50.really done it, the way it did happen and I'm just sorry about it.
:09:50. > :09:56.Outside the meeting room, Nicola and Corin feel the encounter has
:09:56. > :10:03.been positive. What happens next? think I will be more secure in my
:10:03. > :10:10.own home and well have a heightened sense of security. In that feel
:10:10. > :10:14.more secure. For snu Draw a line under it now. -- For you? Drew a
:10:14. > :10:19.line -- draw a line under it now. It seems the right place to put it
:10:19. > :10:26.behind us, I think. For the offender, Tom, meeting his
:10:26. > :10:31.victims could prove life changing. Hi Tom. How did that go? All right.
:10:31. > :10:38.Was it what you expected? Yeah. what's the one message that you
:10:38. > :10:42.take away from meeting your victims today? Try righting my wrongs and
:10:42. > :10:47.that's the best I can do really. If they don't accept that, then
:10:47. > :10:55.there's nothing else I can do. I tried saying sorry and everything
:10:55. > :10:59.like that. Tom has since been released. The Ministry of Justice
:10:59. > :11:04.has found offenders who say sorry and show remorse to their victims
:11:04. > :11:11.are less likely to re-offend. That research was conducted by one of
:11:11. > :11:15.the UK's leading experts on restorative justice.
:11:15. > :11:21.Restorative justice conferencing leads to a significant drop in how
:11:21. > :11:27.much offending people do in the two years afterwards. And that is a 14%
:11:27. > :11:29.drop in the number of offences committed by those that have gone
:11:29. > :11:36.through the restorative justice compared to similar offenders that
:11:36. > :11:39.have not. To actually hear the reality of what you've caused is
:11:39. > :11:42.important, to understand and be able to understand the reality and
:11:42. > :11:52.the devastation of what your actions have caused is massively
:11:52. > :11:53.
:11:53. > :11:57.important. Not all victims sleep through a burglary, one in four
:11:57. > :12:02.confront the crick nalz and violence can often follow.
:12:02. > :12:12.-- criminals and violence can often follow. Even after these extreme
:12:12. > :12:18.
:12:18. > :12:22.situations restorative justice can What have I got here for you?
:12:22. > :12:28.Claire runs a successful cattery in Bolton. She's been a business woman
:12:28. > :12:35.for much of her life. She lives here with her husband and 11-year-
:12:35. > :12:42.old son. One night just over two years ago, while her husband was
:12:42. > :12:52.out at work, her home was targeted by three burglars. They crossed
:12:52. > :12:58.nearby fields to break in. I had gone to bed as normal. I put
:12:58. > :13:08.my little boy in bed, about 10.40pm. It was a Friday night. He was off
:13:08. > :13:09.
:13:09. > :13:15.school. I'd started to watch telly in bed. The next thing, I woke up
:13:15. > :13:20.to my little dog barking. Outside the burglars had taken some slates
:13:20. > :13:24.off the roof. They lowered themselves through a hatch in her
:13:24. > :13:31.ceiling, then went up to Claire's bedroom.
:13:31. > :13:37.A man came up from the side of the bed, dived on me and just started
:13:37. > :13:44.punching me. The next thing I must have got one blow which knocked me
:13:44. > :13:50.out cold. Then when I came round they started to take -- tape me
:13:50. > :13:53.like a mummy. They taped me up to there, from under my chest, up to
:13:53. > :14:02.here. When did you first see your little
:14:02. > :14:11.boy? I could see him sat against the wardrobe, all taped up. His
:14:11. > :14:18.legs was taped. His hands was taped behind his back. He'd got tape over
:14:18. > :14:24.his mouth. He had no glasses on. They'd ripped his glasses off his
:14:24. > :14:33.face. They had a 12-inch blade and they
:14:33. > :14:39.was pointing it to his neck. Saying "I kill your boy - money.". Those
:14:39. > :14:45.were the exact words. What was going through your head at that
:14:45. > :14:51.point? Just, how do I save him? robbers then took her son down
:14:51. > :14:55.stairs to disable the CCTV system. They must have cut the tape off his
:14:56. > :15:05.legs for him to walk down stairs and when they brought him back up,
:15:06. > :15:06.
:15:06. > :15:16.his legs was free. I couldn't hold him, so I told him
:15:16. > :15:18.
:15:18. > :15:27.to wrap himself round me. I said to him, "Wrap your body round me. I
:15:28. > :15:34.just needed him." The burglars fled when her husband came home.
:15:34. > :15:38.A suspect Visinel Andrei was arrested. He pleaded guilty and was
:15:38. > :15:41.sentenced to six years in prison. Afterwards, he'll be deported back
:15:42. > :15:46.to Romania. Claire never got to confront him in
:15:46. > :15:56.court. I needed to ask questions as well.
:15:56. > :16:00.
:16:00. > :16:06.The bird will agree to see her, but as the day of a meeting got closer,
:16:06. > :16:12.Claire was overwhelmed by feelings of anger and vengeance. Your motive
:16:12. > :16:18.for going in was not quite what everyone thought it was. No. Not
:16:18. > :16:27.really. Truthfully, I wanted to kill him. No matter where I was or
:16:27. > :16:36.who was there or whatever sentence I had to pay, I wanted to go in
:16:36. > :16:42.there and just hurt him, like he had heard my son. What she
:16:42. > :16:49.experienced next surprised even her. It goes to the heart of what can
:16:49. > :16:54.make restorative justice meetings such life transforming events.
:16:54. > :17:00.it took all my strength is, I mean all my strength, to stay sat in the
:17:00. > :17:07.chair. But the longer I sat there and the more I looked at him, he
:17:07. > :17:11.was a nobody and he wasn't worth it. He really wasn't worth it. Claire
:17:11. > :17:16.believes the meeting proved decisive for the burglar as well.
:17:16. > :17:23.Just days later, he identified other members of the gang. They
:17:23. > :17:27.have yet to be brought to justice. Overall, a remarkable result in a
:17:27. > :17:33.criminal justice system where victims often feel marginalised.
:17:33. > :17:41.You are just really not heard. And I think just to sit in that room to
:17:41. > :17:47.be heard made me feel 100% better. I came out smiling for the first
:17:47. > :17:53.time in a year and a half. Victims of burglary and robbery who take
:17:53. > :17:58.part in restorative justice meetings show 40% fewer symptoms of
:17:58. > :18:03.post-traumatic stress than other victims. Now the Government wants
:18:03. > :18:09.every victim to have that opportunity, including those of the
:18:09. > :18:13.summer riots. If the offender refuses to engage in a restorative
:18:13. > :18:18.process after they have been found guilty or plead guilty, there
:18:18. > :18:21.should be some obligation on the offender to explain to that victim
:18:21. > :18:27.why they committed that crime. But if the offender declines to take
:18:27. > :18:33.part in that process, they should be some implicit consequences of
:18:33. > :18:39.failing to be prepared to engage in restoration. Most practitioners say
:18:39. > :18:45.the system has to remain voluntary. The moment we force people to be
:18:45. > :18:50.there or force people to meet or forced communication, in my opinion,
:18:50. > :18:54.that potentially damages the integrity of that information. * "I
:18:54. > :18:57.am simply saying this because I have to. I am meeting you because I
:18:57. > :19:04.have to. It should not be about that. It should be about honesty
:19:04. > :19:10.and truth. Victims meeting their offenders in prison is only one use
:19:10. > :19:14.of restorative justice. It can also be used by the police to resolve
:19:14. > :19:21.less serious crimes without going through the entire cost the court
:19:21. > :19:26.justice process. The city of Hull is doing just that. All the
:19:26. > :19:32.neighbourhood police officers here, like PC Matt Jarvis, are trained in
:19:32. > :19:35.restorative justice. This 11-year- old pupil has pinned the other
:19:35. > :19:40.people down on the ground and stamped on his hand. He has a
:19:40. > :19:45.visible bruising and swelling to his hand. It has come through as an
:19:45. > :19:51.assault, where injury has been sustained. Today he is going to see
:19:51. > :19:56.the victim's mother. As he recovered from the assault? Have
:19:56. > :20:02.there been any other issues? assault with his fingers, they are
:20:02. > :20:05.still a bit tender. Traditionally, the other way of dealing with it,
:20:05. > :20:10.as in arresting and interviewing him etc, there is no guarantee that
:20:10. > :20:14.that would be the case. We would look to sit everybody down in a
:20:14. > :20:19.room. No one is under threat of any physical harm or it turning into an
:20:19. > :20:24.argument or some sort of Jeremy Kyle share of, so to speak. It is a
:20:24. > :20:28.controlled environment and everyone can say their piece. I am all right
:20:28. > :20:33.with it, and he will be OK with it. I will leave you my details. It is
:20:33. > :20:38.nice to know that someone is helping us. It's the woman's son is
:20:38. > :20:42.now set to meet his attacker. Restorative justice is one of the
:20:42. > :20:49.tactics used in Hull that has seen recorded crime fall by more than
:20:49. > :20:53.30%. We are trying to use it to reduce our calls of service both in
:20:53. > :20:58.terms of dealing with offenders, in terms of the jobs we have been
:20:58. > :21:02.looking at today, stuff in schools, stuff in care homes, neighbour
:21:02. > :21:06.disputes, youth crime, that type of thing. We do not tend to see these
:21:06. > :21:12.people coming back through the door, so it has had a positive effect on
:21:12. > :21:14.quite a few areas that we are policing day today. 44 out of 52
:21:14. > :21:20.police forces now have the discretion to offer this
:21:20. > :21:27.alternative route away from the court system. It means less
:21:27. > :21:31.paperwork for officers and more time on the beat. In the past, it
:21:31. > :21:34.has been seen as only one response, and that response was just to
:21:34. > :21:37.arrest them and put them through the process. Now we have the
:21:37. > :21:41.discretion to say that if victims think it is appropriate and the
:21:41. > :21:44.offender has admitted it, let's sit round the table and deal with what
:21:44. > :21:49.happened constructively and give the victim a stronger voice in
:21:49. > :21:54.determining what the outcome should be. Police officers have a number
:21:54. > :22:00.of ways of dealing out instant justice without charging anyone.
:22:00. > :22:05.These are called out of court disposals. Restorative justice is
:22:05. > :22:11.the most successful one at cutting reoffending. But magistrates fear
:22:11. > :22:19.more serious crimes are escaping the full weight of the law.
:22:19. > :22:23.research we undertook showed clearly that out of court disposals
:22:23. > :22:28.is being used inappropriately for offences which ought to be brought
:22:29. > :22:33.to court. So the discretion is there to deal with the very low-
:22:33. > :22:37.level offences. We are not taking that away. But we are saying that
:22:37. > :22:43.there are some that have been dealt with inappropriately, and they must
:22:43. > :22:53.be brought to court. If criminals to get charged and go to court,
:22:53. > :22:56.
:22:56. > :23:02.restorative justice gives victims a greater say over their punishment.
:23:02. > :23:06.Eva is 85 and cares for her husband Clarry, who has Alzheimer's. Just a
:23:06. > :23:14.month ago, a youth broke into their house in Hull while they were
:23:14. > :23:20.watching TV. I shouted to him, what are you doing? What do you want?
:23:20. > :23:26.Then he turned and let himself out. I went through into the living room,
:23:26. > :23:30.and I saw my husband on the floor. So with me coming in here and
:23:30. > :23:37.panicking, he jumped up quick, but he fell on the floor because he
:23:37. > :23:44.cannot stand much. The burglar was caught. It was his first offence,
:23:44. > :23:49.but he faced jail time for such a serious crime. Eva did not want
:23:49. > :23:53.that. I said, I know he has done wrong, and if he does it again,
:23:53. > :23:59.then yes. But if he has only done it the once and learned his lesson
:23:59. > :24:08.by doing community service, I said I think that would be better for
:24:08. > :24:13.him. Than going to prison at 17. She got her wishes. Instead, he was
:24:13. > :24:19.given a community sentence. Now a mediator has arranged for her and
:24:19. > :24:27.her daughter to meet him at a local youth centre. He does not want to
:24:27. > :24:36.be identified. As soon as she sees him, there is a kiss and a hug.
:24:36. > :24:43.Don't worry, love. It frightened us to death, seeing somebody in the
:24:43. > :24:49.House, a stranger. I did not know what he was like. Now I can see him,
:24:49. > :24:57.he is not what I would call a thug. But I did not know that at the time,
:24:57. > :25:02.so it put the fear of God into last. It unsettled us. What have your
:25:02. > :25:08.thoughts been since then? I will never do anything like this again,
:25:08. > :25:16.not just for the pain to me, to others, even my family, your family,
:25:16. > :25:22.to you, to everyone. How has it made you feel now? Ashamed, so
:25:22. > :25:29.disgusted at myself for it. Now Eva gets a say on how he should serve
:25:29. > :25:33.his sentence in the community. Instead of mixing with young 'uns,
:25:33. > :25:37.get a volunteer in jobs. Go to an old people's home and do a bit of
:25:37. > :25:43.caring, looking after them, pushing wheelchairs, taking them shopping.
:25:43. > :25:47.This is how you get your experience for jobs. And it learns you more
:25:47. > :25:54.sense than swigging it down and parties and girls. I think
:25:54. > :26:01.everybody needs a second chance. And seeing you now, I think you are
:26:01. > :26:04.worth a second chance. So in some cases, we are now seeing the
:26:04. > :26:08.victims saying, I want to see this person give something back to their
:26:08. > :26:12.community. I want to see this person show me that they have
:26:12. > :26:18.learnt their lessons, that they are prepared to change their life by
:26:18. > :26:22.for example doing community work, voluntary to work in an old
:26:22. > :26:24.person's home. We are seeing some innovative ways that the victims
:26:24. > :26:31.are now saying they want to determine what the outcome should
:26:31. > :26:36.be. For every pound spent on a restorative justice meeting, the
:26:36. > :26:42.criminal-justice service saves �8. Stopping reoffending saves a lot of
:26:42. > :26:47.money. And it is the government's hope that these schemes can be
:26:47. > :26:52.largely financed from existing budgets. So the language of change
:26:52. > :26:56.is one of encouragement, not be cash promises. The scissors much
:26:56. > :27:02.about a culture change within the justice system as a system changed.
:27:02. > :27:07.But it needs funds. Are their funds available for restorative justice?
:27:07. > :27:16.Yes. The Youth Justice Board have �0.600000 into training members of
:27:16. > :27:21.the youth panels -- �600,000. is not a lot of money out of the
:27:21. > :27:28.whole budget. I agree. That is why there is another half a million
:27:28. > :27:35.pounds going in at the adult area. This is a significant priority of
:27:35. > :27:39.this department. We want to widen the delivery of restorative justice.
:27:39. > :27:43.Critics might call this restorative justice on the cheap. But if it
:27:43. > :27:48.works, it could transform the criminal justice system. There is
:27:48. > :27:55.no doubting its power for those like Claire. She has this message
:27:55. > :28:01.for other victims. I would say find the strength and go in there and
:28:01. > :28:08.face them. By going in there, if they do learn something and it does
:28:08. > :28:18.affect them by meeting the person that they have done this crime to,
:28:18. > :28:18.
:28:18. > :28:24.then our streets are a little bit safer, aren't they?