Face of prolific shoplifter banned from entering BP, Tesco and Morrisons in Basildon
A prolific offender has been banned from three stores in Basildon for two years after being convicted of stealing almost £3,800 of goods. Brett Bruce, 32, of Malyons Close, was made subject to a two-year criminal behaviour order that bans him from entering certain shops in Basildon.
Chelmsford Magistrates Court was told on September 17 that Bruce stole a total of £3,794.64 on multiple occasions from a number of shops in Basildon between February 12 and April 1. He was identified on April 1 as stealing £500 of goods from BP in Nether Mayne and was arrested in Devlins later the same day.
The order means Bruce, 32, is banned from entering BP in East Mayne and Tesco Express & Morrisons Daily, both in Felmores End. PC Alex Plakhtienko of Essex Police's Business Crime Team applied to the court for Bruce’s criminal behaviour order (CBO).
READ MORE: 'Mindless vandals' broke into and damaged historic council building and pushed over filing cabinets
ALSO READ: New library and homes development ‘nearing completion’ in Essex town
He said: "We don’t tolerate prolific and violent offenders who cause harm to businesses or their staff. CBOs are designed to tackle the most serious and persistent anti-social individuals.
"It is an offence to breach them and courts can impose a jail term or a fine, or both, for an adult convicted of breaching them. We encourage retailers to report shop thefts, assaults on staff and related anti-social behaviour to us and to provide us with evidence, such as CCTV footage, where they can. We will always look to prosecute where we have the evidence to do so."
You can report all crime and anti-social behaviour to police online at www.essex.police.uk/ro or, alternatively, you can ring 101. Always ring 999 if a crime is in progress.