20 weeks in prison and a CBO for prolific shop thief

A prolific shoplifter who stole hundreds of pounds of goods from shops in Grantham has been sentenced to 20 weeks in prison.

Charlie Carter, 24, of Warmington Avenue, Grantham, stole hundreds of pounds of products, including electronics, alcohol, laundry detergent, power tools, and fragrance from various shops.

During the hearing on Saturday 20 May, the court stated that the offences were so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified because Carter had “a flagrant disregard for people and their property”. 

He was arrested following proactive work to investigate the thefts by the an investigating officer in Response, and the local Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), who also worked in partnership with South Kesteven District Council’s CCTV team.

He was given the prison term after being brought back before the courts for committing six shop thefts within a week of being given a six month community order for five different thefts.

He was also given a three year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO), which will remain in place when he is released from prison.

A CBO is a civil order designed to tackle the most serious and persistent anti-social individuals where their behaviour has brought them before a criminal court. The orders means there are now enforceable rules on where he can and cannot go.

If the CBO is breached, this is a criminal offence and a custodial sentence can be enforced. For the most serious offences, this can be up to five years.

The restrictions mean he is prohibited from:

• Enter any retail premises in Grantham town centre unless accompanied by a support worker or responsible officer, except for Grantham Pharmacy in High Street
• Enter any stores in Grantham Retail Park units in Gonerby Road, Grantham
• Enter any retail premises in Lincolnshire which he has received an official banning notice from staff or police
• Enter any retail premises in Barrowby, Lincolnshire

ASB Coordinator PC Linda Maxwell, who is responsible for bringing CBOs to court, gathered impact statements from the shops affected. "As local community officers, we have a good understanding of who is persistently offending in our area, and we try as much intervention as can to prevent offending, alongside progressing the criminal matters with the court.

"Carter has shown no interest in engaging with us or other agencies, and was repeatedly committing offences in our community. We have taken this action to protect the public. It has been a collaborative effort between the police and South Kesteven District Council, and a long list of other partner agencies to get to this point.

"The custodial sentence will offer a reprieve for the communities blighted by his actions. The sanctions for breaching a CBO are more serious than shop lifting, and this will hopefully prevent further crimes being committed once he is released from prison."

We keep a continued watch of people who we have issued CBOs for, in partnership with South Kesteven District Council, and we proactively release their image so that members of the community have the opportunity to stay clear of their offending, and are more able to report an incident if one occurs.

If you have an incident you feel needs police attention, please contact us on 101.