Colchester: Shoplifter banned from city centre under court order

A prolific shoplifter who repeatedly targeted Colchester businesses has been banned from entering the city centre under a wide-ranging court order.

Lloyd Salter, 38, is one of more than 260 people arrested in Essex on suspicion of shoplifting so far this year.

Our Business Crime Team, together with our city and town centre teams, are working hard to target the repeat offenders targeting our county’s businesses.

This work has seen more than 450 charges of shop theft secured against offenders, plus a further 24 charges of assaulting a retail worker.

Officers with Colchester’s city centre team stopped Salter in Culver Street West on 22 January this year, as he was wanted in relation to an ongoing investigation.

Salter proceeded to assault a Police Community Support Officer by elbowing him to the head.

Following his arrest, officers recovered a bag of stolen goods.

It was later established the items had been stolen that day from shops in Long Wyre Street, Colchester.

The thefts took place at charity shops and a gift shop.
Salter was further wanted for a theft at a shop in Culver Street East in September 2024.

He was further linked to the theft of goods from a shop in Culver Street West in December 2024.

Salter went on to admit five counts of theft from a shop and one count of assaulting an emergency worker.

The offender would repeatedly make use of a bicycle to evade officers.

Appearing at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday 24 March, he was made the subject of a Criminal Behaviour Order spanning the next five years.

Under the terms of the order, Salter, of Shrubland Road, Colchester, must not:

• Enter any charity ship within the district of Colchester.
• Enter the city centre of Colchester, save for express and provable reasons including attending pre-arranged medical or legal appointments or to collect prescriptions.
• Enter Colchester city centre in possession of any bicycle or any means of transportation such as an E-scooter or tricycle.
• Enter any food retail shops within Colchester city centre without any means to pay for goods.

He was further ordered to pay hundreds of pounds in compensation to the various businesses he targeted and the officer he assaulted.

Under the terms of a community order spanning 18 months, he must complete various conditions including drug and rehabilitation activity requirements.

'We will put this order to good use'

Sergeant Andrea Brady, of Colchester city centre team, said:

“This is a strong order, with clearly defined conditions that we will not hesitate to put to use to deter and detect any further offending.
“Salter is a prolific thief who has caused substantial issues in Colchester.
“Targeting offenders like him remains a firm priority for our team.
“Many offenders steal persistently, often to pay for an addiction, and we will ask the courts to impose criminal behaviour orders on such people.
“Some orders include a 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. And this has been demonstrated several times already by the courts this year.”

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