Norfolk’s police chief has called for tougher and quicker sentences for repeat shoplifters, warning that the current system will not deter persistent offenders.
Paul Sanford said shoplifting is one of the few crimes in the county that continues to rise and expressed frustration with the delays in court cases.
Speaking on BBC Radio Norfolk, Sanford said: “There are huge delays in our court system and I share my frustration that I sometimes believe these persistent offenders are not getting the deterrent sentence they need.”
“We have a problem with repeat offenders continuing to return to stores and we need a concerted effort to tackle them and stop their offending.”
According to the Office for National Statistics, 6,382 shoplifting offenses were reported to Norfolk Police in the 12 months to June 2025, up from 5,211 the previous year.
Sanford announced that police recently dealt with a man who admitted to 23 counts of shoplifting, a woman in Breckland who has been arrested 43 times since 2022 and a Norwich offender who has been arrested 25 times in the last 20 months.
“We catch them, we need the rest of the system to catch up,” he said.
Sanford said the government’s ongoing sentencing review was “critically important” and argued that chronic backlogs in the courts were undermining efforts to curb repeat offenders.
“If theft is accompanied by violence, threats or intimidation, we will take tough action,” he added. “But we need the court system to move faster.”
In shoplifting cases, police used video surveillance as the main source of evidence, as well as facial recognition technology to identify suspects. For the most common offenders, Norfolk Police have applied for anti-behaviour orders, which allow the courts to ban people from certain town centers or retail areas.
Sanford also noted that the resale of stolen goods, including mass thefts at supermarkets, is a persistent cause of crime.
Retailers have reported persistent losses from shoplifting in recent years, with staff often subjected to abuse and intimidation. Sanford said he has “the utmost compassion” for store employees who deal with repeat offenders.
Norfolk Police have advised retailers to increase security by maintaining a visible customer service presence, mapping theft hotspots in stores, training staff to spot suspicious behavior and ensuring shop floors are kept tidy to reduce opportunities for hiding.
A Justice Department spokesman said reforms were underway to speed up justice and strengthen community-based punishments. “We now have new laws imposing tighter community restrictions, including the largest ever expansion in the designation and use of exclusion zones,” they said.
The ministry added that investment and procedural reforms would be introduced to modernize the courts and eliminate inefficiencies.
But for police forces like Norfolk, the message is clear: without quicker sentencing and stronger deterrence, repeat shoplifting on the high street is likely to remain a persistent and growing challenge.
