Around four in five convicted shoplifters in Greater Manchester walk free from court
More shoplifters were convicted in Greater Manchester than almost anywhere else in the country except London last year - but four out of five of them walked free from the courts.
On average, a convicted shoplifter will be ordered to serve just over two months in jail, a sentence which has remained fairly stable over the last five years.Average fines for those found guilty of shoplifting have risen to the highest on record, up to £110. In Greater Manchester these were slightly lower, at £99.
Surrey was followed by Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, and North Wales, where 19 per cent of shoplifters received an immediate custodial sentence in all three police force areas. An offender is more likely to be sentenced to prison if they present a danger to the public or have a history of poor compliance with court orders. They are less likely to be jailed if there is a reasonable chance of rehabilitation, or if there are other mitigating factors, such as demonstrating a determination to address their behaviour.
It comes as Channel 4’s Dispatches exposes Britain’s shoplifting epidemic in an undercover investigation. Reporter Matt Shea worked with private security teams and police to trace the origins of one of the shoplifting gangs behind the spike in offences.
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