Southend/Benfleet: Shoplifter banned from some shops for three years

A shoplifter has received a suspended prison sentence and been banned from entering certain shops in Southend and Benfleet for three years.

Tommy Collinson, 35, of York Road, Southend, appeared for sentence at Southend Magistrates’ Court on Friday 14 April.

He admitted theft from a shop on Thursday 23 March.

The court heard Collinson had stolen two joints of lamb and two bottles of laundry detergent, valued at £51.98, from Farm Foods on the Greyhound trading estate in Southend.

He did so while under the conditions of a prior suspended sentence, but magistrates chose to impose a further four-week suspended jail sentence and a £154 victim surcharge.

Under the terms of a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order, Collinson must not enter the following shops in Southend: Farm Foods and Matalan, in Greyhound Retail Park, Co-op, in Sutton Road, Iceland’s, in York Road, and Tesco Express, in South Church Road.

He was also banned from two Co-op stores in Westcliff, in Hamlet Court Road and London Road, and a BP store, in London Road, Benfleet.

PC Alex Plakhtienko, of our Business Crime Team, worked with Southend Community Policing Team to secure the conviction and order.

He said:

“Criminal Behaviour Orders are a useful tool we can put in place to tackle prolific offenders, ensuring serious penalties are in place for breaching them.

“Where we find repeat offenders fail to get the message, that shoplifting causes real harm to businesses and communities, we can seek such orders.

“Shoplifting should not be dismissed as a minor or victimless crime.

“It leaves behind stress and fear for staff who have to deal with such offending on an all too regular basis and has a financial impact on businesses.”

Our Business Crime Team specialises in supporting businesses, working to build relationships with independent shops and retail chains, explaining how they can report crime to us and, just as importantly, what will happen when they do.

They help to identify risks in the workplace, providing crime prevention, fraud and cyber-crime advice and strengthening links with businesses and partners, including local community safety partnerships, Essex Chambers of Commerce and the Essex Federation of Small Businesses.

Working with the National Business Crime Centre, the team share nationally-identified crime trends and best practice with our business community.

And they have also developed a comprehensive guide to business crime prevention which identifies steps business-owners can take to protect themselves and their properties.