Essex Police made 50 arrests for shoplifting across Essex in the past fortnight, with 36 individuals subsequently charged with a total of 131 shop theft offences and five assaults.
At court, we will be seeking criminal behaviour orders (CBOs) against seven of them.
We use CBOs to address the underlying causes of persistent and prolific offending, such as requiring offenders to engage with drug and alcohol addiction support services.
Additionally, CBOs can exclude offenders from the stores they have been targeting.
Most arrests are made by our local policing and community policing teams, but our Business Crime Team provides specialist advice where necessary.
Sergeant Christian Denning notes that business crime officers also spend a significant amount of time engaging with retailers across the county, exploring ways to protect their businesses and ensure the safety and security of their staff and customers.
“We also work with retailers to encourage them to report crime to us through our 'Open For Business, Closed For Crime' campaign.
“This enables us to tailor our crime prevention advice to accommodate new crime trends.
“We emphasise the importance of providing us with as much evidence as possible, such as clear CCTV footage and witness statements.
“The stronger the evidence we can present in court, the higher the likelihood of a conviction.
“This evidence can also support our applications for criminal behaviour orders against persistent offenders.
“Conditions can include banning them from targeted stores and requiring them to attend drug and alcohol treatment courses. This approach aims to address the reasons behind their offending and break the criminal cycle."
In the past four weeks, 93 arrests have been made for shop theft across Essex. Between 1 January and 16 June 2024, that figure rises to 677.
Between 3 and 16 June, 14 people were arrested in Southend; 13 in the Chelmsford district; nine in Colchester; six in Thurrock, five in Tendring and three in Basildon.
In addition to the charges against 36 of those arrested, investigations are ongoing in seven other cases. One person was cautioned, and no further action will be taken against six others.
Arrests for shop theft relate 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 specified period and may have been arrested for more than one offence.
Comments