Police have revealed the first shoplifters to be fitted with electronic tags under a new scheme aiming to deter repeat offences.
Barry Farthing, 41, and Victoria Hale, 50, have been ordered by Sussex Police to wear the tags for 12 months and avoid certain areas with supermarkets in East Sussex.
The force said it is the first in the country to tag prolific shoplifters with location monitoring tags.
They allow police to monitor the offenders’ movements in real-time, helping to deter further offences and enabling swift action if breaches or tampering occur.
The Ministry of Justice revealed in September that up to 22,000 more offenders and defendants will be tagged each year as part of the reforms, in the biggest expansion of electronic monitoring since curfew tags were introduced in 1999.
Chief Superintendent Katy Woolford said: “Shoplifting has an enormous impact on businesses and the wider community.
“We will use all of the tools at our disposal to support businesses and ensure that prolific offenders are brought to justice.
“In Sussex we are leading the way with this innovative scheme to tackle repeat offenders, and we will continue to work closely with our partners to protect our business community."
Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Katy Bourne said: “For the first time ever, Operation STOP (Shop Theft Offender Project) is taking direct aim at prolific shoplifters – using electronic tags to deter repeat offending.
“I am delighted to see our Sussex pilot project already delivering real results – successful court outcomes that actively tackle repeat shop theft and help to protect local businesses.”
Hale, from Eastbourne, was the first person to be fitted with a Buddi tag after being given a two-year criminal behavioural order off the back of guilty pleas to 12 shoplifting charges.
The tag excludes Hale from a 30m area around the Co-op in Albert Road, Eastbourne, for 12 months.
Farthing was jailed for eight months and given a Criminal Behaviour Order, including a location monitoring tag, following a six-week shoplifting spree earlier this year.
Farthing repeatedly targeted supermarkets in East Sussex between 18 August and 30 September, stealing items often on consecutive days.
Officers had already been investigating him for 76 previous shoplifting-related charges committed between January and March of this year.
Farthing was arrested, charged with 46 counts of theft from a shop and remanded into custody. He has been ordered to wear the tag for 12 months.
