So much for remorse...

It was supposed to be an exercise in remorse and rehabilitation.
However, the 16-year-old burglar used the opportunity of writing a letter to his victims to rub salt into their wounds. Instead of apologising for stealing valuables from a family home, he told the owners that ‘to be honest I’m not bothered or sorry about the fact that I burgled your house’.

The teenager arrogantly said the raid was their own fault and told them off for their ‘dumb mistakes’ in making their property a target for thieves such as him.

The habitual offender, who has not been identified, was put on an Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme as punishment for his latest crime. Described as the ‘most rigorous’ form of non-custodial sentence available for young offenders, writing letters to victims is part of the programme meant to make them change their ways. In the case of this teenager, it clearly didn’t work. His letter was stopped by the authorities before it reached the victims and has now been released as part of an anti-burglary campaign. Written in a scrawl and littered with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, the letter is addressed: ‘Dear Victim.’

Chief Inspector Melanie Jones said the contents of the letter were 'disgusting' but could prove useful as a warning to householders (LOL)