Tanya Liddle, who disguises herself in hats while shoplifting, was convicted for the 171st time
(Picture: Northumbria Police/SWNS)
This month Tanya Liddle, who has been dubbed Britain’s most prolific shoplifter, was convicted for the 171st time.
The 43-year-old has been arrested almost 400 times and is so well known among shopkeepers in Newcastle she wears an array of hats to disguise herself.
In April she was caught on CCTV donning a large floppy hat while walking out of a TK Maxx with £1,500 worth of designer bags on her arms.
She has now been banned from from all shops in the North East except a pharmacy, a supermarket and a clothes store.
Northumbria Police successfully applied for a civil injunction against Liddle at a hearing at Newcastle Civil Court last Thursday.
The force says it is the strictest order they have ever issued against a repeat offender and if she breaks the terms of the order she faces prison.
The crackdown comes as the UK continues to deal with a major shoplifting epidemic.
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Last year saw 430,000 shoplifting cases were recorded across the country, according to the Office for National Statistics, the highest on record and over a third more than the previous year.
The actual figure, however, is thought to be far higher.
The British Retail Consortium, which represents most major retail chains, reported losses of £1.8bn to shoplifting between September 1 2022 and August 31 2023, up from £950m the year before.
A BRC survey also showed a 50% increase in levels of violence and abuse toward staff, with 1,300 incidents reported.
The Co-op, one of the most vocal retailers on the subject of shop lifting, recorded 330,000 incidents of shoplifting, abuse, violence and antisocial behaviour in its 2,500+ UK stores last year, a 44% increase on the year before.
So, what is driving the increase?
Speaking to the Guardian, Co-op’s director of public affairs, Paul Gerrard, believes the rise isn’t down to individuals stealing for themselves, but people ‘stealing on a large scale to resell to people struggling to make ends meet’, often due to the cost of living crisis.
Liddle has been banned from almost every shop in the North East of England (Picture: Northumbria Police / SWNS)
Criminologist Professor Emmeline Taylor, who wrote a report for the Co-op on the impact shoplifting is having on the business, said there are three types of shoplifters.
The first ones are the organised criminals who move from county to county to steal in bulk before selling it at a cheaper price.
‘Why risk the penalties of drug trafficking when you can just go and target companies up and down the country?’ she told the Guardian.
The second are the local prolific thieves who target the same stores repeatedly and sell the products to the community they live in. Recently, she said, there has been ‘markets for really boring, mundane products’ such as laundry detergent and coffee.’
The third type she describes as the ‘Swipers’ – basically …read more
Source:: Metro
