Meet the Burglars Panorama

Every day of the year, 775 homes are broken into, leaving

traumatised victims and taking up vast resources within the criminal

justice system. Even if caught and imPresidentened, half the burglars

come out -- imprisoned, half the burglars come out and try it again.

Is it time to try something different? This is where that

social experiment starts, a Sheffield street. Just over eight

weeks before, burglars targeted a house here. You can see from here,

where the stuff was left, three doors down they carried it over the

fence and left it outside the door. Corin, the woman who lives here and

Nicola, a friend who happened to be visiting, were burgled while they

slept. They only found out there had been a break-in when the police

discovered the house keys nearby and knocked on the door. You've

opened the door and they've asked you if you've been burgled and you

didn't know. We laughed at them, we said "No, why would we have been

burgled." We came in here and the TV stand was empty. We're thinking,

that's not right. Then you notice the laptop was gone. I could see

where they'd been. There were footprints all over the floor.

They'd walked to the TV and laptop and gone straight out. The fact

they slept through the entire burglary has deeply disturbed Corin

and Nicola. For me, the worst part is the fact that we didn't wake up.

So you wonder did they come upstairs. Were they just outside

the bedroom. You can't get over the thought this they could have been

anybody. It could have been a murderer or rapist. There's so many

ifs and buts. What will stop anybody doing that again, if I'm on

my own. It scared me, frightened me. One burglar was caught and

sentenced to six months in prison. Normally, Corin and Nicola would

never have met him. Their fears would have remained unresolved and

their questions unanswered. they thought they had a right to

come into somebody's house, did they think about how much that was

going time pact, not just the person who lives there, but the

knock-on effect it has on people. And this is their burglar, Tom.

He's in Wetherby Young Offenders Institution. Did you expect to ever

spend your 18th birthday in a prison cell? My dad would say,

you'll be locked up by the time you're 18. Never believed it. Now

obviously, my 18th, probably my worst birthday. I guess my own

peace of mind as well, I would like to know how he got in and what was

he thinking when he took my belongings, what was he going to do

with them? The charity Remedi from Sheffield is one of the UK's

leading organisers of restorative justice meetings. They're going to

bring Tom together with his victims. Being offered the opportunity to

ask those questions and seek an answer that it's entirely up to

them that they believe, but to have the opportunity to seek an answer

can be cathartic from a victim's points of view. Tom's grandmother

was recently burgled. That experience spurred him on to meet

his victims this morning. Why is it important for you to take part in

this process? Just because they've asked me and I can't turn around

and say no. All my family's good family. There's only me. They'd be

more proud of me if for doing -- me for doing it. Outside Nicola and

Corin have come into a prison for the first time in their lives. How

are you feeling this morning? nervous when we started going

through the gates and security checks. How are you feeling about

meeting the young offender today? I've met him this morning and he's

keen to meet and talk to you about the burglary? I think that

intrigues me more. Yeah. This process is entirely voluntary,

offenders get no reduction in their sentence for doing this. When

The encounter is being managed by a trained mediator from Remedi. First,

the introductions. I'm Corin. It was my house. I'm Nicola, I was

staying in Corin's house at the time. I'm Tom. I burgled your house.

I just wanted to start with asking what happened from your side?

just went out with all me mates. Just went out and then we went, my

mate's like "Come on, let's make some money." We'd been walking

around. We went in the back garden and your window was open. My mates

jumped in. They grabbed your keys. I think, no I think that were it.

They opened your door and took all the stuff out. If you've come in

and said, I did it and I needed the money for X, Y or Z, we were

prepared to empathise with why you did it. The fact it was just for a

laugh. That's made me really angry. Really, really angry. I can't

empathise with that. Not at all. Just breaking into somebody's home

and taking their things for a bit of a laugh. There's still items

missing. What happened to them, the things in my handbag? What things?

There was a sat nav, my iPod... sat nav got chucked and the iPod,

that, it must still be in the police car. In the police car?

got chucked under the seat. OK. you know that we were in the house

at the time? You couldn't have been out because handbag and that were

outside. You must have been in, yeah. Did that not bother you that

we were asleep upstairs? No, not really. That's kept me awake at

night thinking that somebody could get into a house that I was asleep

in and get all the way upstairs to a bedroom door and I wouldn't wake

up, so you could have had a knife, a gun, anything and now I wake up

when I hear anything in the house at all, thinking, somebody's in the

house. What if that was your mum or family member, waking up? It's

happened to a family member since I've been in prison. That's why

I've accepted to meet you and that, because obviously it was wrong. My

Nana has been burgled and that. She wouldn't go out of the house for a

week. They weren't even in when it happened. You must feel even worse

because you were in the house. you think you've got enough now to

put it behind you and not do it again? I just want to get my life

back now. I've done my time for it. I just want to get out, get a job,

like, make something of myself, make my family proud and that.

it helps, we appreciate it. It's put a lot of things sort of, a lot

of questions to bed really. Nicola and Corin have had some of

their questions answered. But now the meeting is winding up and so

far there's been no apology from Tom. Do you have anything you would

like to stay, Tom to finalise your talk? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have

really done it, the way it did happen and I'm just sorry about it.

Outside the meeting room, Nicola and Corin feel the encounter has

been positive. What happens next? think I will be more secure in my

own home and well have a heightened sense of security. In that feel

more secure. For snu Draw a line under it now. -- For you? Drew a

line -- draw a line under it now. It seems the right place to put it

behind us, I think. For the offender, Tom, meeting his

victims could prove life changing. Hi Tom. How did that go? All right.

Was it what you expected? Yeah. what's the one message that you

take away from meeting your victims today? Try righting my wrongs and

that's the best I can do really. If they don't accept that, then

there's nothing else I can do. I tried saying sorry and everything

like that. Tom has since been released. The Ministry of Justice

has found offenders who say sorry and show remorse to their victims

are less likely to re-offend. That research was conducted by one of

the UK's leading experts on restorative justice.

Restorative justice conferencing leads to a significant drop in how

much offending people do in the two years afterwards. And that is a 14%

drop in the number of offences committed by those that have gone

through the restorative justice compared to similar offenders that

have not. To actually hear the reality of what you've caused is

important, to understand and be able to understand the reality and

the devastation of what your actions have caused is massively

important. Not all victims sleep through a burglary, one in four

confront the crick nalz and violence can often follow.

-- criminals and violence can often follow. Even after these extreme

situations restorative justice can What have I got here for you?

Claire runs a successful cattery in Bolton. She's been a business woman

for much of her life. She lives here with her husband and 11-year-

old son. One night just over two years ago, while her husband was

out at work, her home was targeted by three burglars. They crossed

nearby fields to break in. I had gone to bed as normal. I put

my little boy in bed, about 10.40pm. It was a Friday night. He was off

school. I'd started to watch telly in bed. The next thing, I woke up

to my little dog barking. Outside the burglars had taken some slates

off the roof. They lowered themselves through a hatch in her

ceiling, then went up to Claire's bedroom.

A man came up from the side of the bed, dived on me and just started

punching me. The next thing I must have got one blow which knocked me

out cold. Then when I came round they started to take -- tape me

like a mummy. They taped me up to there, from under my chest, up to

here. When did you first see your little

boy? I could see him sat against the wardrobe, all taped up. His

legs was taped. His hands was taped behind his back. He'd got tape over

his mouth. He had no glasses on. They'd ripped his glasses off his

face. They had a 12-inch blade and they

was pointing it to his neck. Saying "I kill your boy - money.". Those

were the exact words. What was going through your head at that

point? Just, how do I save him? robbers then took her son down

stairs to disable the CCTV system. They must have cut the tape off his

legs for him to walk down stairs and when they brought him back up,

his legs was free. I couldn't hold him, so I told him

to wrap himself round me. I said to him, "Wrap your body round me. I

just needed him." The burglars fled when her husband came home.

A suspect Visinel Andrei was arrested. He pleaded guilty and was

sentenced to six years in prison. Afterwards, he'll be deported back

to Romania. Claire never got to confront him in

court. I needed to ask questions as well.

The bird will agree to see her, but as the day of a meeting got closer,

Claire was overwhelmed by feelings of anger and vengeance. Your motive

for going in was not quite what everyone thought it was. No. Not

really. Truthfully, I wanted to kill him. No matter where I was or

who was there or whatever sentence I had to pay, I wanted to go in

there and just hurt him, like he had heard my son. What she

experienced next surprised even her. It goes to the heart of what can

make restorative justice meetings such life transforming events.

it took all my strength is, I mean all my strength, to stay sat in the

chair. But the longer I sat there and the more I looked at him, he

was a nobody and he wasn't worth it. He really wasn't worth it. Claire

believes the meeting proved decisive for the burglar as well.

Just days later, he identified other members of the gang. They

have yet to be brought to justice. Overall, a remarkable result in a

criminal justice system where victims often feel marginalised.

You are just really not heard. And I think just to sit in that room to

be heard made me feel 100% better. I came out smiling for the first

time in a year and a half. Victims of burglary and robbery who take

part in restorative justice meetings show 40% fewer symptoms of

post-traumatic stress than other victims. Now the Government wants

every victim to have that opportunity, including those of the

summer riots. If the offender refuses to engage in a restorative

process after they have been found guilty or plead guilty, there

should be some obligation on the offender to explain to that victim

why they committed that crime. But if the offender declines to take

part in that process, they should be some implicit consequences of

failing to be prepared to engage in restoration. Most practitioners say

the system has to remain voluntary. The moment we force people to be

there or force people to meet or forced communication, in my opinion,

that potentially damages the integrity of that information. * "I

am simply saying this because I have to. I am meeting you because I

have to. It should not be about that. It should be about honesty

and truth. Victims meeting their offenders in prison is only one use

of restorative justice. It can also be used by the police to resolve

less serious crimes without going through the entire cost the court

justice process. The city of Hull is doing just that. All the

neighbourhood police officers here, like PC Matt Jarvis, are trained in

restorative justice. This 11-year- old pupil has pinned the other

people down on the ground and stamped on his hand. He has a

visible bruising and swelling to his hand. It has come through as an

assault, where injury has been sustained. Today he is going to see

the victim's mother. As he recovered from the assault? Have

there been any other issues? assault with his fingers, they are

still a bit tender. Traditionally, the other way of dealing with it,

as in arresting and interviewing him etc, there is no guarantee that

that would be the case. We would look to sit everybody down in a

room. No one is under threat of any physical harm or it turning into an

argument or some sort of Jeremy Kyle share of, so to speak. It is a

controlled environment and everyone can say their piece. I am all right

with it, and he will be OK with it. I will leave you my details. It is

nice to know that someone is helping us. It's the woman's son is

now set to meet his attacker. Restorative justice is one of the

tactics used in Hull that has seen recorded crime fall by more than

30%. We are trying to use it to reduce our calls of service both in

terms of dealing with offenders, in terms of the jobs we have been

looking at today, stuff in schools, stuff in care homes, neighbour

disputes, youth crime, that type of thing. We do not tend to see these

people coming back through the door, so it has had a positive effect on

quite a few areas that we are policing day today. 44 out of 52

police forces now have the discretion to offer this

alternative route away from the court system. It means less

paperwork for officers and more time on the beat. In the past, it

has been seen as only one response, and that response was just to

arrest them and put them through the process. Now we have the

discretion to say that if victims think it is appropriate and the

offender has admitted it, let's sit round the table and deal with what

happened constructively and give the victim a stronger voice in

determining what the outcome should be. Police officers have a number

of ways of dealing out instant justice without charging anyone.

These are called out of court disposals. Restorative justice is

the most successful one at cutting reoffending. But magistrates fear

more serious crimes are escaping the full weight of the law.

research we undertook showed clearly that out of court disposals

is being used inappropriately for offences which ought to be brought

to court. So the discretion is there to deal with the very low-

level offences. We are not taking that away. But we are saying that

there are some that have been dealt with inappropriately, and they must

be brought to court. If criminals to get charged and go to court,

restorative justice gives victims a greater say over their punishment.

Eva is 85 and cares for her husband Clarry, who has Alzheimer's. Just a

month ago, a youth broke into their house in Hull while they were

watching TV. I shouted to him, what are you doing? What do you want?

Then he turned and let himself out. I went through into the living room,

and I saw my husband on the floor. So with me coming in here and

panicking, he jumped up quick, but he fell on the floor because he

cannot stand much. The burglar was caught. It was his first offence,

but he faced jail time for such a serious crime. Eva did not want

that. I said, I know he has done wrong, and if he does it again,

then yes. But if he has only done it the once and learned his lesson

by doing community service, I said I think that would be better for

him. Than going to prison at 17. She got her wishes. Instead, he was

given a community sentence. Now a mediator has arranged for her and

her daughter to meet him at a local youth centre. He does not want to

be identified. As soon as she sees him, there is a kiss and a hug.

Don't worry, love. It frightened us to death, seeing somebody in the

House, a stranger. I did not know what he was like. Now I can see him,

he is not what I would call a thug. But I did not know that at the time,

so it put the fear of God into last. It unsettled us. What have your

thoughts been since then? I will never do anything like this again,

not just for the pain to me, to others, even my family, your family,

to you, to everyone. How has it made you feel now? Ashamed, so

disgusted at myself for it. Now Eva gets a say on how he should serve

his sentence in the community. Instead of mixing with young 'uns,

get a volunteer in jobs. Go to an old people's home and do a bit of

caring, looking after them, pushing wheelchairs, taking them shopping.

This is how you get your experience for jobs. And it learns you more

sense than swigging it down and parties and girls. I think

everybody needs a second chance. And seeing you now, I think you are

worth a second chance. So in some cases, we are now seeing the

victims saying, I want to see this person give something back to their

community. I want to see this person show me that they have

learnt their lessons, that they are prepared to change their life by

for example doing community work, voluntary to work in an old

person's home. We are seeing some innovative ways that the victims

are now saying they want to determine what the outcome should

be. For every pound spent on a restorative justice meeting, the

criminal-justice service saves �8. Stopping reoffending saves a lot of

money. And it is the government's hope that these schemes can be

largely financed from existing budgets. So the language of change

is one of encouragement, not be cash promises. The scissors much

about a culture change within the justice system as a system changed.

But it needs funds. Are their funds available for restorative justice?

Yes. The Youth Justice Board have �0.600000 into training members of

the youth panels -- �600,000. is not a lot of money out of the

whole budget. I agree. That is why there is another half a million

pounds going in at the adult area. This is a significant priority of

this department. We want to widen the delivery of restorative justice.

Critics might call this restorative justice on the cheap. But if it

works, it could transform the criminal justice system. There is

no doubting its power for those like Claire. She has this message

for other victims. I would say find the strength and go in there and

face them. By going in there, if they do learn something and it does

affect them by meeting the person that they have done this crime to,

then our streets are a little bit safer, aren't they?