Persistent shoplifter jailed
Chelsea Davies has been sentenced for a year in prison.
A persistent shoplifter who stole from stores across the Brierley Hill area in Dudley has been sent to prison for a year.
Chelsea Davies, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to 51 weeks at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court last Friday, 15 December.
The 30-year-old had targeted various retailers over the last several months, including small family shops to supermarkets, stealing items ranging from designer fragrances to household goods and foodstuff.
Davies had been charged and remanded for an earlier shoplifting offence in May and was given a community order to attend rehabilitation.
Police also put a plan in place to help Davies by signposting her to support services in an effort to reduce her reoffending.
Despite these measures, Davies continued stealing from shops, sometimes threatening staff when challenged.
On one occasion in October, Davies entered a shop in Brierley Hill and placed several boxes of washing up powder in her jacket.
She was spotted by a staff member who asked her to return the items but she refused and instead made for the exit, stealing the staff member’s mobile phone and case, which contained cash and bank cards.
Before she fled, the staff member managed to grab Davies’s jacket, which contained her name and an address in Brierley Hill.
Officers received further reports that led them to believe Davies was continuing to steal from other shops in the area and with the evidence we gathered, and following interviews with staff and a trawl of CCTV footage, we caught up with her.
Davies was arrested on Thursday 14 December and charged her with 16 counts of theft from shops across Brierley Hill and the surrounding areas.
She was convicted on all counts the following day.
Inspector Michelle Allen, Brierley Hill Neighbourhood Policing Manager, said: “Chelsea Davies was a brazen shoplifter whose persistent offending over a period of time, stealing items totalling hundreds of pounds in value, was a blight on local retail outlets.
“We understand the cost to business and distress that shoplifting causes and where offences are reported we will investigate and work to identify those responsible. We also work with staff to improve security and discourage shoplifting through crime prevention and safeguarding advice.”