‘I’d steal 10-15 times a day’: ex-offenders on the addictions driving prolific shoplifting

Résumé détaillé

Former shoplifters say treatment and drug rehabilitation are essential to ending cycle of theft and imprisonmentPolice to target 500 chronic shoplifters in retail crime crackdown…

Former shoplifters say treatment and drug rehabilitation are essential to ending cycle of theft and imprisonment

When Rhys, 34, stole goods from shops across Birmingham, he would often leave notes for the staff apologising for his actions.

“I’d feel that guilty about it. I’d pass them notes, saying I’m so sorry about this,” he said. “But in the end, I was just that numb to it, and fearless as well. I’d walk in with a suitcase and ram everything into it, and not think twice about it.”

Rhys was in the grips of drug addiction and turned to shoplifting to fund his habit. He had struggled with drug use since he was a teenager and then, in 2019, he took crack cocaine for the first time. “Within a week, I was going into shops and shoplifting for it, because you just can’t get enough,” he said.

Over the next few years, he shoplifted 10-15 times a day and was sent to prison several times. However, without help to tackle his addiction, Rhys struggled to change his behaviour.

“I’d spend hours shoplifting but, at the end of the day, I still wouldn’t have anything to eat. I’d be jumping back over the fence to go through the bins to get myself a sandwich. I wouldn’t even get myself a bottle of water,” he said. “My priority was always getting the stuff to sell for drugs.”

On Wednesday, the home secretary announced plans to target 500 of the most prolific shoplifters across the country with police crackdowns in 17 areas. Measures include banning repeat offenders from high streets and town centres, closer monitoring of offenders with regular hearings before a judge and the use of electronic tagging.

But former shoplifters say many prolific thieves are in the grip of drug addiction or experiencing mental health crises, and without more funding for support services, the problem will not go away.

Keeley, 44, was once labelled Birmingham’s most prolific shoplifter, stealing between £5,000 and £9,000 worth of goods a day. She was sent to prison 28 times.

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