But when he found out the daughter of one of his victims was having nightmares as the result of his crime, he saw the light.
Jamie, 37, a warehouseman, from Churchdown, has put his criminal past behind him thanks to a restorative justice programme.
He spoke to the Echo about the scheme, at a special conference in Cheltenham’s Pavillion, to mark the rollout of Restorative Justice across the rest of Gloucestershire.
“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,†said Jamie.
…Two pilot projects have been running in Cheltenham and the Cotswolds since 2011.
Jamie, who works in Tewkesbury, added: “I met Lucy, the woman who’s house I burgled. I found out that her little girl was traumatised.
“I used to go out with someone who had a little girl and I thought how angry I would be if it was her.
“I’ve been through the court system since I was 13 and been through loads of these types of programmes. After you’ve done a prison sentence, there’s nothing that can scare you.
“Meeting Lucy was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. It gave me my conscience back.
“I agreed to write her daughter a letter, explaining that I wouldn’t be coming back. She felt better after reading that, apparently.