Woman banned from Bedford's St John's Retail Park for nicking £500 worth of items

A woman who was arrested for stealing from the same Bedford shops over a three-week period has been given a Community Behaviour Order (CBO).

Kelly Smith, 40, was caught trousering items worth over £500. She pleaded guilty to seven charges of theft from shops in Bedford.

Due to knowledge of her offending history, Smith was issued a CBO which prevents her for entering shops in the St John's Retail Park in Rope Walk, London Road, or Tesco on Cardington Road.

The case is just one of many police are looking into as part of a new op which aims at cracking down on the most prolific shoplifters.

As part of Operation Belleville, officers are tackling the top 10 offenders and giving them CBOs.

Earlier this month, the Bedford community policing team also arrested two men who had stolen an estimated £10,000 worth of goods from a nearby shop over a four-month period. They are awaiting sentencing.

Chief Inspector Mike Chand, from the Bedford local community policing team, said: “Retail crime can have a huge impact on local communities, and often comes hand in hand with intimidating behaviour or even assaults on shop staff.

“We have seen people continually re-offend despite being arrested or charged, so have been considering different ways of putting in more powerful deterrents."

And he added: "Breaches of these CBOs carry much harsher sentences and allow us to act quicker to prevent the offence before it happens.”