Ninety-nine shop theft charges in a week

Of the 33 people arrested on suspicion of shoplifting in Essex last week, 21 people have been charged with a total of 99 offences of shop theft plus two assaults.

Seven people were arrested in the Colchester district; six in Southend; four in each of Basildon and Chelmsford; three in each of Braintree, Epping and Tendring; two in Harlow; and one in Thurrock between Monday 12 and Sunday 18 February.

Since 1 January, our officers have made a total of 221 arrests for shop theft.*

One man has already admitted 21 counts of shop theft from the Co-op store in Old Harlow High Street between 18 December 2023 and 11 February.

And a Chelmsford woman has been jailed for a year for stealing from shops and for damaging a police cell. Another Chelmsford woman has been charged with 12 counts of shop theft and one of attempted theft from John Lewis in the city’s Bond Street.

Meanwhile, two Basildon brothers have been sentenced for stealing from shops in Pitsea and South Ockendon. One has been jailed and the other received a suspended prison sentence.

Sergeant Christian Denning, of our specialist Business Crime Team, says:

“It is important that we concentrate on the people causing the most harm in our society so our approach to shoplifting is to concentrate on the individuals committing the offences.
“Officers work hard to gather the evidence we need to get persistent offenders charged with their multiple crimes and put before the courts.
“This, in turn, means the courts have the information they need to hand out appropriate sentences.
“But, of course, we need the help of business owners, retail staff and the public to provide that evidence.
“So please, if you have evidence such as CCTV or dashcam footage or have information about any crime, please tell us. You can report online or, alternatively ring us on 101.
“If it’s a crime in progress, ring 999.
“We also provide businesses with specialist crime prevention advice so, if you want to find out more, please visit our Business Crime webpages.”

Five people tested positive in custody last week for cocaine, crack cocaine or heroin and will be required to attend an assessment, with one of the three drugs treatment services we work with.

Three people were cautioned for shop theft. Cases involving three others are still being investigated and six arrests resulted in no further action.

* Arrests for shop theft. This relates to the number of arrests our officers have made. A person may have been arrested more than once for theft from a shop during the time period. And they may have been arrested for more than one offence.

Essex Police Business Crime Team

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. 

For more information, visit our Business Crime Team pages.

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If you share our values and want to help people, keep people safe and catch criminals, then join us as a police officer, member of staff, special constable or volunteer.

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