Essex Police pioneers use of criminal behaviour orders to deter shoplifters
A hundred shoplifters who have targeted stores across Essex are currently subject to special court orders known as criminal behaviour orders (CBOs) in a pioneering approach by the Essex Police specialist Business Crime Team.
CBOs, which generally run for between two and five years, are more usually imposed for persistent anti-social behaviour, but Essex Police also saw it as a potential way of tackling shop thefts.
“If people are simply sentenced for their crimes, there is no incentive for them to stop offending,” explains Sergeant Christian Denning of the Business Crime Team.
“And if the causes of their offending, which are often related to drug and alcohol addiction, are not addressed they often can’t stop by themselves because they need immediate cash to fund their habit.
“So we ask the courts to impose CBOs with various conditions, such as banning them from the shops they target and requiring them to attend treatment and rehabilitation courses where they will get help and support to give up.
“In some cases, people are able to turn their lives around but, if they don’t take the chance and continue stealing, then they can be jailed for flouting a court order.”
Between January 1 and June 8 this year, 678 people were arrested on suspicion of shop theft across Essex. Some of them were prolific offenders – people who have 15 or more previous convictions or cautions.
“Investigations for shop theft and associated offences are undertaken by our neighbourhood policing teams and our business crime officers initially assisted them in applying to the courts for CBOs to be imposed on habitual shoplifters,” the force said.
Of the 128 people arrested on suspicion of shop theft in May alone, 88 were charged with a total of 241 shop theft offences and, of them, eight were charged with an associated assault. In the first eight days of June, 37 people were arrested, with 29 later charged with a total of 63 shop thefts and three associated assaults.
Sgt Denning added: “We work closely with stores across the county through our Open For Business, Closed For Crime initiative to encourage staff to report all shop thefts, assaults and associated anti-social behaviour to us and to supply us with good-quality CCTV images and witness statements.
“This helps us to build strong cases for court and secure successful convictions. It also backs up subsequent applications for criminal behaviour orders, where they become necessary.
“Appearing in court accused of shop theft can be a wake-up call for some but for those who persist with shoplifting, CBOs can be an effective way of diverting them from offending by removing the root causes. If that doesn’t work, they can be jailed.”