A serial offender has been jailed for more than six years for shop thefts and armed robberies in Wolverhampton.
During some of the offences Steven Baker committed last summer, he armed himself with a knife which he used to threaten shop staff as he stole items from the shelves.
Baker was arrested by neighbourhood officers on Chesterton Road on July 8 following a robbery at a shop in Prestwood Road a week earlier when a member of store staff was threatened with a knife as goods were taken.
The 43-year-old was subsequently charged with two robberies, six thefts, two counts of possessing a knife, one attempted robbery and possession with intent to supply a class A drug.
He has now been jailed at Wolverhampton Crown Court for a total of six years and six months.
His sentencing comes as the Wolverhampton police teams are keeping up the pressure on tackling retail crime across the city.
West Midlands Police stated, "We understand the impact shop thefts have on our communities and there are now four Business Crime Officers along with two Police Community Support Officers in Wolverhampton dedicated to tackling the issue.
"Their primary focus is to investigate retail crimes and target our repeat offenders and they’re working closely with retailers and partners to do that."
This month also sees the launch of our new Retail Crime Operational Group which is meeting monthly, with key partners working with us on tackling the root causes of retail crime as well as sharing best practice around problem-solving at targeted premises.