A man who fraudulently sold Big Issue magazines has been jailed and issued with an order preventing him from selling them again in the city centre.
Chris Brealey, of no fixed address, was convicted for fraud by false representation after police officers from the Operation Compass team in Nottingham city centre spotted his criminal behaviour.
The 53 year old was convicted of four charges of fraud on May 13 this year and jailed for 12 weeks.
Upon conviction, the city centre team applied for a criminal behaviour order against Brealey which would prevent him from selling magazines in the city centre.
The court agreed and granted the three-year order and police are now encouraging the public to be aware of Brealey’s behaviour in order to avoid being scammed themselves.
This marks the first criminal behaviour order applied for solely by Nottinghamshire Police in the city centre.
Sergeant Paul Whitehead, who leads the Operation Compass team, said: “The Operation Compass team is a group of officers in the city centre who are dedicated to proactively spotting crime and tackling it head-on.
“Using a variety of tactics including plain-clothed patrols and police searches, we work to stop crime before it happens and address community concerns.
“Brealey’s actions were disgraceful and we applied for the criminal behaviour order due his repeated and prolific offending in the city centre.
“Rogue vending of the Big Issue undermines the hard work of legitimate vendors, whilst fraudulently taking money from members of the public, which are behaviours which must be challenged.
“The court agreed and issued Brealey with a three-year order which prohibits this behaviour.
“If any members of the public see him in the city centre selling magazines once he is released from prison, call us immediately on 101."
