Prolific Swale thief jailed after targeting supermarkets

A prolific Swale shoplifter has been jailed and will be subject to a strict criminal behaviour order preventing her entering a store with a bag that is not clear, on her release from prison.

Neighbourhood officers have been working to protect local businesses and their latest enforcement sees Shelley Earnshaw receiving more than three months’ imprisonment.

Between Wednesday 31 July and Friday 16 August 2024, Earnshaw targeted Morrisons in Milton Regis, Sittingbourne, on five occasions. She stole laundry and toiletry items along with multiple meat products with a total value of £264.

Further offences

Around the same time, the thief went to the Co-op in Aspen Drive, Sheerness, and stole multiple items on two separate occasions, by placing them in her bag and leaving without attempting to pay.

Earnshaw, of College Road, Sittingbourne, was arrested and charged with a total of seven thefts and pleaded guilty at Medway Magistrates’ Court.

On Monday 23 September, the 31-year-old was sentenced to 100 days' imprisonment.

Court order

A criminal behaviour order was also imposed that prevents her entering several specified shops in Swale, requires her not to act in a way that causes distress to shop staff or the public, and forbids her from entering a store with a bag unless it is clear, or a small clutch handbag.

Police Sergeant Dan Bartlett said:

‘We are determined to deter prolific thieves from targeting local stores as this can have a very real financial impact on these businesses and cause particular distress to shop workers. Beat officers will investigate these incidents and, where an offender is identified, ensure they are detained.
'Where we can show a pattern of persistent offending we will also ask a court to impose a criminal behaviour order. This restricts an offender's conduct on their release from prison and allows us to swiftly bring them back before the court if they breach the relevant conditions.’