A prolific shoplifter who stole more than £2,000 worth of soft drinks from a Greggs store in Brixton has avoided jail despite being charged with 69 theft offences and pleading guilty to 80 offences in total, prompting strong calls from Met Police for tougher action against repeat offenders.
Tiffany O’Neill, 28, was handed a 26-week suspended sentence at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (November 11). She was arrested, charged and remanded to court 11 times since May, repeatedly targeting the same store on Electric Avenue despite bail conditions banning her from entering Lambeth.
The Met said officers had spent more than 120 hours dealing with the case, highlighting the strain prolific shoplifting places on retailers, staff and police resources.
New constraints on magistrates and judges that came into force earlier this year require a sentence of less than a year to be suspended unless very specific exceptions apply. The Met is highlighting this case to reiterate its continued calls for the criminal justice system to hold prolific offenders to account and prevent them from doing harm to London’s communities – whether that is by targeting businesses or individuals.
O’Neill was initially banned from entering the London Borough of Lambeth and required to wear a GPS tag as a condition of her bail. However, despite repeated offending whilst on bail, the GPS tag was never fitted.
Three sentencing hearings were previously adjourned because she failed to appear in court, and a fourth was delayed earlier this week due to tech issues at the court. Not only is this a waste of court time, it also puts extra demand on officers who had to find and arrest O’Neill, following the first three adjournments.
In addition to the suspended sentence, a Criminal Behaviour Order was also granted banning her from Brixton town centre and all Greggs stores in the UK for two years.
Sergeant Chris Wilkinson, who led the investigation, said: “Our officers worked relentlessly over several months to build the evidence needed to bring this prolific offender before the courts.
“Despite multiple arrests and repeated offences, we remained focused on securing a positive outcome for our community. Her persistent offending caused repeated distress to staff, harmed the business and placed a significant demand on police resources.
“We recognise that courts are obliged to follow the guidelines on suspending sentences, but it’s obviously a disappointment that someone who we know has reoffended so frequently is now back out in the community.
“We hope this marks a change in her offending, but if it doesn’t we will be there to intervene and put her back before the courts.”
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: “A small number of prolific offenders continue to be responsible for the majority of crime and harm in our communities. We are increasingly arresting the same people again and again when they ignored bail or license conditions, not complied with their electronic tags, or in many cases all of the above. The cumulative impact on retailers and their staff is enormous.
“Our focus has to be on putting suspects before the courts. We need the CPS, courts, prisons and probation to work with us to break the cycle of continued release and re-offending. While we have made significant progress in tackling shoplifting, cases like this show why greater focus on prolific offenders remains essential and how police alone cannot fix this.”