Prolific thief returned to jail after flouting court order

A prolific shop thief has been returned to jail after brazenly breaching a court order designed to stop her offending.

Kelly Bailey was made the subject of a Criminal Behaviour Order in June of this year that banned her from entering multiple shops in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, and from causing distress to anyone in the wider district.

The order, secured from a magistrate, was put in place to ensure a more serious punishment should the 36-year-old continue her offending.

Undeterred, she continued to plunder goods from some of the very same shops throughout the month of August – stealing hundreds of pounds worth of household items.

When she was arrested again on Tuesday 28 August she was even found in possession of several boxes of chocolates stolen from a nearby store.

Appearing at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, Bailey, of Pinewood Close, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, pleaded guilty to seven counts of theft and four counts of breaching a criminal behaviour order.

She was jailed for a total of 18 weeks and ordered to pay compensation.

Her Criminal Behaviour Order, obtained after she was identified as a prolific offender by the police-led Business Crime Forum, will remain in place once she is released.

Inspector Jon Hewitt, district commander for Ashfield, said:

“I want this to serve as a warning to that small number of people who repeatedly steal from local shops.

“It isn’t a minor crime and it really doesn’t matter how big the business is that you target; we will come after you and we will do whatever is necessary to hold you to account.

“Bailey has long been identified as a prolific offender and is well known to local businesses. We put this order in place to give us additional powers to punish her and that is exactly what has happened.

“These court orders have real teeth and this sentence reflects that. I am sure Bailey won’t be the last prolific shoplifter to be jailed as we currently have these orders in place against several other offenders.

“I sincerely hope that this woman uses this opportunity to change the direction of her life and put a long-term stop to this very serious offending.”