Officers secure 112 shop theft charges in a fortnight

In the past fortnight, our officers have secured 112 charges of shop theft against 37 people plus another six charges of assault against retail workers.

In the past four weeks, 114 arrests have been made for shop theft* across Essex. Between 1 January and 19 May 2024, that figure rises to 594.

Between 6 & 19 May, 15 people were arrested on suspicion of shop theft in Southend, 11 in Thurrock; ten in the Tendring district; five in Colchester; four in Basildon; three in each of Chelmsford and Harlow; one in the Rochford district and one at Stansted Airport. That’s a total of 53 arrests.

Cases involving eight people are still being investigated while no further action will be taken against four others. Four will receive community resolutions.

While many of the arrests are made by officers locally, our specialist Business Crime Team works with them to apply for criminal behaviour orders against the most persistent offenders.

Two of those charged this week will have applications for CBOs to be imposed on them if they are sentenced at court.

Sergeant Christian Denning, of the Business Crime Team, says:

“While being arrested, charged and brought before a court for shoplifting can be a huge wake-up call for some, other offenders steal persistently, often to pay for an addiction.
“We will ask the courts to impose criminal behaviour orders on such prolific offenders because we can seek various conditions, such as the requirement to attend drink or drugs treatment courses or a ban from the stores they target.
“In this way, we look to limit the damage such offending can have on retail staff and the stores themselves and prevent the cycle of reoffending from continuing by removing the root causes of offending.
“If an offender ignores a CBO, they can be put back before the court, which can impose a jail term, a fine or both, if they are convicted of breaching it.”

 

* 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 about how our business crime officers can help your business, visit our Business Crime pages.