A thief who was caught on CCTV stealing gift sets from a Peterborough discount is the 55th Peterborough shoplifter charged, the 85th arrested and the 35th sentenced since October. And 15 of these have been jailed for a combined total of four years with compensation and fines amounting to more than £5,700.
Adele Machin, 45, is the latest to be jailed after security staff at B&M in Bridge Street reported to police that she had stolen items from the store at just before 2pm on 8 December.
Within about ten minutes she was found about to board a bus in Midgate with a Dove gift set and Remington hairdryer gift set on her, worth £29.98, resulting in her arrest.
Officers returned the items to the store and reviewed CCTV footage which showed Machin queuing at a till with another woman and as the woman paid for hair dye, Machin headed out of the store without paying for the two items she was holding.
Machin, of no fixed address, appeared at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday (Friday) where she was sentenced to eight weeks in prison after previously admitting theft from a shop.
PC Lewis Roulstone, who investigated, said: “Machin knew exactly what she was doing, working with someone else to try to distract staff from her theft.
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“Unluckily for her, the whole incident was caught on camera and our officers who were on dedicated shoplifting patrol in the area were able to swiftly arrest her and return the stolen goods to the store.”
Machin was arrested by police officers who were on a day of action on 8 December as part of Operation Interstellar which was implemented across the north of Cambridgeshire to tackle shoplifting by identifying and dealing with the most prolific offenders across the district.
Shoplifter makes off with coats as police officers were INSIDE Peterborough store chatting to staff
Since the operation began in October, 85 people have been arrested for shoplifting offences across Peterborough, with 55 people charged so far – 35 of those have been sentenced, with 15 people put in prison for a combined total of four years, and compensation and fines amounting to more than £5,700.
Adele Machin, 45, is the latest to be jailed after stealing these items from B&M in Bridge Street, Peterborough. She was about to flee on a bus when police caught up with her.
