A prolific shoplifter who stole around £4,000 worth of beauty products from a Boots store in the City of London has been jailed for 22 weeks.
Michael Hayes, 35, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of theft at the Moorgate branch of Boots. He was also handed a Criminal Behaviour Order banning him from entering the Square Mile for three years, as well as any Boots store in England and Wales.
Sergeant James Wood, of the City of London Police’s Proactive Acquisitive Crime Team, said: “We never view shop theft as a low-level crime, we understand the significant negative impact it has on businesses, employees and customers.
“The Proactive Acquisitive Crime Team are committed to doing everything we can to catch criminals, ensuring people who live, work or visit the City are safe and feel safe, and offenders are brought before the courts.
“Haye’s Criminal Behaviour Order will prevent him from further criminality and help protect businesses and members of the public. If he breaks the terms of the CBO, he could face further jail time.”
Hayes began his spree on 7 May 2025, stealing 15 tubes of joint and back relief gel worth £173. He returned the next day, taking around £792 worth of goods including razor blade cartridges and skincare products. Between 7 May and 25 June, he repeatedly targeted the store, stealing products worth around £4,000 in total.
His sentencing coincides with Safer Business Action Week (SaBA), supported by the National Business Crime Centre and the City of London Police Authority Board. Officers have been running crime-prevention stalls across the Square Mile and visiting businesses to help protect staff and customers.
Tijs Broeke, Chair of the Police Authority Board, said: “Retail crime has a damaging effect on businesses, staff, and the wider community.
“The City of London Police Authority Board fully supports the City of London Police and the National Business Crime Centre in their efforts to tackle offenders and protect retailers.
“Through Safer Business Action Week, law enforcement and business partners work together to make our high streets safer which forms part of the Home Secretary’s Safer Town Centres initiative.
“We are committed to making the Square Mile a safe and welcoming place for everyone — and a hostile environment for those who come here to commit crime.”
SaBA is a joint operation involving police, businesses, private security, Business Crime Reduction Partnerships and Business Improvement Districts, focusing resources to reduce crime. It forms part of the national Tackling Retail Crime Together strategy launched in July.
