A BURGLAR who spent much of his life committing crimes has spoken out about the dramatic change he has been through thanks to a programme aimed at helping offenders navigate a crime-free existence.

Jason had spent the majority of his life in and out of prison until one day he made the decision to embark on Lancashire Police's restorative justice programme, a scheme which aims to bring victims to the heart of the justice process by pairing them up with the person who had committed a crime against them.

The idea of the process is to bring closure to both parties of crime through a series of meetings alongside police professionals - forcing people like Jason to face up to the hardship they had caused others.

In his case, Jason met with Lynne - a woman whose home he had robbed after a session of drinking in the pub.

Having entered the property via a back door, he crept upstairs and picked up a number of items, including victim Lynne’s handbag. On the way back downstairs, he was confronted by Lynne and her husband and ended up assaulting the pair of them. After losing his glasses in the scuffle, Jason was identified, arrested, convicted and sent back to prison.

During his time in prison, Jason decided he wanted to engage with the restorative justice process, in a bid to turn his life around.

He said: “I have been going to prison since the late 1980s. Nothing had ever stopped me taking drugs or committing crime. This time after I had committed the crime, I felt remorse. I knew what I had done was wrong. I had heard about Restorative Justice over the years in prison but I had never bothered with it previously because, to be flippant, I wasn’t bothered about the people I had hurt.”

Talking about his experience of the restorative justice process and where his life is at now, Jason said: “It made me have an understanding of the victim, which I had never looked at or I’d never understood before. Through meeting Lynne I realised she had been worried over that Christmas and she had been worried about the security of her house people coming to break in.

“I had hit my rock bottom during prison but I think coming out and doing the restorative justice programme with Lynne was the first stepping stone.

“Going through the restorative justice process has given me more confidence. Once I’d gone through the process I thought if I can do that I can do anything. My life has since changed dramatically. I started out getting myself a part-time job. Now I’m in full-time employment. My health and wellbeing has improved as well.”

To mark international restorative justice week (November 15 - 22), Lancashire Police are highlighting Jason and Lynne's story.

Helena Cryer, RJ manager at Lancashire Police said: “The process allows victims to move forward and recover and can prevent offenders reoffending in the future. We also utilise Restorative Justice as an alternative to Court in order to resolve conflict, often this is used as part of a diversionary process especially with children and young people.

“I am pleased that we have managed to adapt our processes to ensure that both victims of crime and offenders continue to have the opportunity to take part in this life-altering process.

“Demand for Restorative Justice has remained consistent and the team continue to receive a high number of referrals.

“I want to take this opportunity to reassure anybody interested in taking part in Restorative Justice that our service is very much here to support you and answer any questions that you might have.”