A prolific shoplifter described as a “professional criminal” from Bath has been jailed after admitting to a string of offences in Bath this summer.
Louisianna Santillo, 44, of Combe Down, received a two-month prison sentence at Bath Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (2 July) after she pleaded guilty to 17 shop thefts from the Co-op store, in Mount Road, between 17 June and 1 July.
Magistrates deemed the offences so serious that only a custodial sentence was suitable and noted the defendant had a “flagrant disregard for people and their property” and that she “is operating as a professional criminal.”
Santillo also received a two-year criminal behaviour order (CBO) which has conditions preventing her entering shops within certain areas, including Fox Hill, Odd Down and Combe, upon release from prison.
“This conviction and CBO is reflective of the harm Santillo has caused businesses within our communities,” Sergeant Tom Allwood-Coppin, of the Bath neighbourhood policing team, said.
“Retail crime is not a victim-less crime. Shoplifting can have a huge impact on companies, particularly small businesses, and we are targeting prolific thieves and trying to secure convictions against as many of them as possible.
“Santillo has received a jail sentence for her crimes, but we are particularly pleased that our application for a CBO has been successful. This will help protect these retail premises and the staff employed who have suffered repeatedly at the hands of Santillo for the next two years.”
Police forces have been increasingly using CBOs, legal orders traditionally used for anti-social behaviour, to deter persistent shoplifters.