Norfolk’s Chief Constable has called for tougher and swifter punishments for prolific shoplifters, warning that persistent offenders are not facing a sufficient deterrent under the current court system.
Speaking to Edd Smith on BBC Radio Norfolk Breakfast, Paul Sanford, Chief Constable of Norfolk Police, said shoplifting was one of the few crime categories in the county that continues to rise.
"There's big delays in our court system and I will share my frustration that sometimes I don't think these persistent offenders are getting a deterrent sentence they need.
"We do have a problem with persistent offenders coming back to stores time and time again and we do need some concerted effort to tackle them and stop their offending," he said.
Sanford highlighted repeat offending as a significant concern, adding that some individuals were returning to stores “time and time again”.
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, 6,382 shoplifting offences were recorded by Norfolk Police in the 12 months to June 2025, up from 5,211 the previous year.
He revealed that the force had recently dealt with one man who had admitted 23 counts of shoplifting, a Breckland woman who had been arrested 43 times since 2022 - and a Norwich shoplifter who had been arrested 25 times in the past 20 months alone.
He described the government’s ongoing sentencing review as “critically important” and pointed to “chronic backlogs” in the courts as a barrier to swift justice.
While expressing sympathy for shop workers affected by theft, Sanford said the force would take a robust approach where shoplifting incidents involved violence, threats or intimidation.
"When that theft is accompanied by any sorts of violence, threats and intimidation we will come down hard on them and rightly so in terms of what needs to be done.
"We have chronic backlogs in our court system and that needs to be sped up," he said.
Sanford said CCTV footage remained the primary source of evidence in shop theft cases, with facial recognition technology also being used to identify suspects. He added that part of the issue involved stolen goods – including bulk thefts from supermarkets – being resold.
For the most prolific offenders, Norfolk Police has been applying for Criminal Behaviour Orders, enabling courts to ban individuals from entire town centres or cities.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said "We now have new laws giving tough community restrictions including the biggest ever expansion in tagging and the use of restriction zones.
"We are also modernising our criminal courts by combining bold reforms, record investment and action to tackle inefficiencies across the system to deliver swift justice."