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Of the 29 people arrested on suspicion of shoplifting in Essex last week, 19 people have been charged with a total of 73 offences of shop theft, plus two assaults.
Five people were arrested in each of the Basildon and Chelmsford districts; four in each of Colchester, Epping Forest and Harlow; three in Southend; two in the Thurrock district; and one in each of the Rochford and Uttlesford districts between Monday 4 and Sunday 10 March.
A Southend woman was charged with 33 offences of shop theft after she was arrested on 4 March 2024. She has already appeared before the city’s magistrates and has been remanded on conditional bail until 7 June 2024.
And a man has also appeared in court, accused of committing 13 shop thefts in Colchester. He’s been remanded in custody by Chelmsford magistrates until his next hearing on 8 April 2024.
Another breached a criminal behaviour order previously imposed for shop theft and is due to appear in court the following day for that offence.
Sergeant Christian Denning, of our specialist Business Crime Team, says our force is committed to tackling shoplifting and the violence and abuse which can accompany it.
“Our community and local policing teams are dedicated to arresting offenders and gathering the evidence we need to put them before the courts.
“But they can’t do it without the public’s help. Through our Open For Business, Closed For Crime initiative, we encourage business owners and retail staff to report shop theft, assaults and anti-social behaviour.
“And we explain to them what they need to provide to us to assist our investigations and build strong cases for court.
“We want to hear from anyone who has information about shop thefts or, indeed, any crime. You can report online at www.essex.police.uk/ro or, alternatively ring us on 101.
“Thanks to Open For Business, Closed For Crime, more people are reporting shop thefts to us and that means we can target our specialised crime prevention advice and our operational activity accordingly.”
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.
One person was cautioned for shop theft and one received a community resolution. Cases involving three others are still being investigated and five arrests resulted in no further action.
Between 1 January and 10 March 2024, our officers made a total of 311 arrests for shop theft.*
* 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.
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