Westcliff Shop Ban

A MAN has been sentenced to jail after committing various shoplifting offences in Westcliff and Southend.

Christopher Burke, 39, has admitted five instances of shop theft within a ten-day period while he was on parole from prison.

The thefts took place at the BP garage shop on West Street in Westcliff, where Burke exited the store without paying, carrying a bag with chocolate and tea.

Southend officers apprehended him within ten minutes of receiving the call from the shop.

Subsequent to his arrest, shop staff informed the officers that Burke had committed thefts on three prior occasions, specifically on September 11, 13, and 15.

As a result, Burke has been sentenced to eight weeks in prison and handed a criminal behaviour order that prohibits him from entering four shops in Southend and Westcliff for a three-year period.

These include the Co-op Food Store on Rochford Road in Southend and Lothian Meats on North Road in Westcliff.

Further investigations revealed that Burke had also stolen from The Range on Short Street in Southend on September 11.

During this incident, security personnel managed to recover the stolen goods, leading to Burke’s ban from that store as well.

The total value of the stolen items amounted to £468, and he has been instructed to pay £415 in compensation.

PC Alex Plakhtienko, from Essex Police’s Business Crime Team, said: “Burke has a history of offending and that is why he has been banned from four shops in the district, rather than just the two he was convicted for stealing from this time.

“His abuse towards shop staff has had a serious impact on them and the customers in the stores he has targeted.

“We want retail staff to feel safe in their working environment and so we use criminal behaviour orders as a means of achieving this.

“Through our open for business, closed for crime campaign, we encourage any member of retail staff to report abuse, harassment and thefts from their stores to us so we can investigate. They can do this online or by ringing 101.

“We are also connected to many stores in our cities and towns through the TownLink radio system, which can be used to alert us quickly in an emergency.”

Picture: Christopher Burke of Clacton, has now been jailed. Pic: Essex Police

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