VIDEO: Lancashire woman assaulted by burglar makes peace with attacker thanks to life-changing police justice

Lynne was watching TV with her husband when they heard a suspicious noise and went out to discover a strange man at the bottom of their stairs.

The burglar, called Jason, made a dash for the door. A scuffle broke out and he hit Lynne in the face and bit her husband.

But now, in a twist of fate, the two have become friends after they were brought face-to-face by Lancashire police's Restorative Justice programme, which allows victims to meet with offenders.

Lynne said: “When I went into the hallway I can remember a mixture of feelings. At first I felt shock at seeing somebody being there, coming down the stairs. But because I could see he didn’t look to be a big person and there was something about when he turned his face towards me, that changed things as well. So initially I was clearly very angry but then when I saw his face I just felt he wasn’t quite there. I felt sorry for him.”

In the hours before committing the 2016 burglary, a recently laid-off Jason was drinking in a pub. Living a hectic lifestyle blotted by spells in prison and drug use, he found himself turning back to crime.

He entered Lynne's house by a back door, 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. He was later identified, arrested, convicted and sent back to prison.

Jason said: “I remember going round the back of the premises and trying the back door and the back door was open. I just walked in and helped myself, like I was allowed. I know that sounds harsh and bad but at that time I wasn’t thinking straight.

“I went in, I went through some drawers and picked up some things. On the way out I was confronted by Lynne and her husband. There was a bit of a scuffle at the bottom of the stairs and I’ve ended up biting him, unintentionally, and then I ran off. Twenty-four hours later police came to my house and I was arrested for dwelling house burglary.”

Lynne signed up for Restorative Justice, and after undergoing the relevant screening and safeguarding processes, a meeting date was arranged. However, Jason failed to show up.

Lynne said: “I remember feeling disappointed but I also recognised how hard it was for him to come and meet me, having been in my house and burgled me.

“The first time they met was emotional. I felt the compassion I felt before and really saw how anxiety-provoking it was for Jason to be there and to be meeting me. I feel that happened because I wasn’t angry but was wanting to meet the person rather than the behaviour. That felt to shift something for both of us. For me to be open to ‘who is this person?’ and ‘what has happened in this person’s life to be at this place right now?’, and for him to be touched by the fact I wasn’t angry. It felt as if what happened is that we found some sort of connection.”

Jason said: “She wanted to know from my side why I had done it. I wanted to know what I could do to make her feel safer or what I had done through burgling this woman’s property.

“We met and the first one was a bit awkward to say the least because I was the person who had broken into her property and ransacked her house. She was so understanding and wanted to know what was going on in my life and what had led me there. So that made me feel like I wanted to give more to her and I wanted to open up to her.

“At first I didn’t want to meet Lynne because of the anxiety and guilt I felt towards her. I didn’t want to see that look of disgust in her face at the first meeting. But I didn’t get any of that off her. I didn’t get any feelings of resentment from her

“It wasn’t about me on that first meeting. I wanted her to get everything off her chest. I just wanted to meet her and explain to her that I am not an ogre and I am not a monster. Each time we meet it’s like meeting a friend now. I know it sounds silly because she is my victim but that’s how it feels.”

How does Restorative Justice help?

Lynne said: “Having been through the process, it has taken away any fear that I might have had of the person who came into the house. That was already beginning to change when I was in the hall and I saw his face but I think that has now completely changed. For me it underlines the possibility of change.

“I am immensely impressed by how Jason has moved things in his life and how he has taken hold of the opportunity and made things happen. He has been put in a place where suddenly there was a window of opportunity and he saw something about himself perhaps because the RJ process was there and ready to create the opportunity for him.

“For me it has given me the opportunity to shift some of my stereotypes and to follow through with that recognition that this person was not fully them self and that things were not right in their life and to meet that in a different way to anger, blame and punishment.”

Jason said: “It made me have an understanding of the victim, which I had never looked at or I’d never understood before. The Restorative Justice cycle makes you look at things differently. When you look at RJ you have your ripple effects and I had never looked at that part of crime before. I’ve always looked at it as you only hurt the victim of the crime but you don’t. 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.”