Woman who stole £2k worth of drinks from one Greggs store avoids prison

A prolific shoplifter who stole more than £2,000 worth of soft drinks from one Greggs store has avoided prison.

Tiffany O'Neill, 28, has been arrested, charged and remanded to court 11 times since May. She was charged with 69 theft offences, the Metropolitan Police said.

When she appeared for sentencing at Croydon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, having pleaded guilty to 80 offences, she was given a 26-week sentence, suspended for 12 months.

Under new rules aimed at easing prison overcrowding, almost all sentences of less than a year are suspended.

The Met said it is highlighting this case to reiterate its continued calls for the criminal justice system to hold prolific offenders to account and stop them from doing harm to London's communities - whether by targeting businesses or individuals.

At all but one court appearance in recent months O'Neill was granted bail, despite repeatedly breaching her bail conditions and returning to target the same Greggs store on Electric Avenue in Brixton.

O'Neill was initially banned from entering the London Borough of Lambeth and was made to wear a GPS tag as a condition of her bail - but it was never fitted.

Three sentencing hearings were previously adjourned because she failed to appear in court. A fourth was delayed earlier this week due to tech issues at the court.

A Criminal Behaviour Order was also granted banning her from Brixton town centre and all UK Greggs stores for two years.

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Sergeant Chris Wilkinson, who led the investigation, said: "Her persistent offending caused repeated distress to staff, harmed the business and placed a significant demand on police resources.

"We recognise that courts are obliged to follow the guidelines on suspending sentences, but it's obviously a disappointment that someone who we know has reoffended so frequently is now back out in the community.

"We hope this marks a change in her offending, but if it doesn't we will be there to intervene and put her back before the courts."

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: "We are increasingly arresting the same people again and again when they ignored bail or license conditions, not complied with their electronic tags, or in many cases all of the above.

"The cumulative impact on retailers and their staff is enormous."

Roisin Currie CBE, chief executive of Greggs, said: "Retail crime is an industry-wide issue and we continue to strengthen our approach, including the rollout of Auror technology across all of our shops, investment in CCTV and trials of a new shop format in a small number of locations exposed to higher levels of anti-social behaviour."

Plans to target 500 of the most prolific shoplifters in the UK were announced by the Home Office on Wednesday.

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