A man who filled a suitcase with stolen goods in Birmingham shops says he left apology notes for staff as he went, and it still never stopped him.
Rhys, 34, is now in recovery. He told the Guardian he was “numb” and “fearless” by the end, and that the guilt behind the notes never outweighed the craving.
Ten to 15 thefts a day
Rhys had used drugs since his teens. He tried crack cocaine for the first time in 2019 and says he was stealing to pay for it within a week.
At his worst he hit shops 10 to 15 times a day. He was jailed several times, but says nobody ever tackled the addiction itself.
The work brought little comfort. After hours of stealing he often had nothing to eat and would climb a fence to pick through bins for a sandwich. Everything he took was for resale.
Keeley, 44, was once called Birmingham’s most prolific shoplifter. She says she took between £5,000 and £9,000 of goods a day, favouring designer handbags that sold fast. She has been jailed 28 times.
Her greatest fear was withdrawal, which once put her in hospital for 10 days. Walking from shop to shop could add up to 30,000 steps in a day.
She also describes the excuse she and others used. Shoplifting felt close to victimless, she said, “because none of us want to be doing what we’re doing”.
Retail groups disagree. Pavan Dhaliwal, chief executive of the charity Revolving Doors, said the anger of shopkeepers and staff was justified and that theft was not victimless. She argued that the same small group keeps cycling through crisis and custody, and asked why.
Prison, then the same crowd
Sean has been jailed 42 times since 2000 and rarely got more than a few months of freedom. He says he stole food and clothes because drugs took all his money.
He describes working as a recovery mentor in prison, then relapsing within hours or days of getting back to Wigan. What changed things, he said, was being met at the prison gates by a recovery service and starting therapy. He now runs Rehab Fitness, a group exercise project for people in recovery.
Roy, 36, was jailed after taking wine from a shop while high and drunk. He says he had cash on him and cannot explain it. “Dead behind the eyes” is how he describes himself then.
He now runs Iron Minds Academy, offering fitness and mentoring to young men in Wigan.
Each of them found a way out through treatment or support rather than a sentence. Keeley was referred to a drug service by an off-duty security guard and now receives buprenorphine injections for opioid dependence. Rhys was helped by an outreach navigator, who links vulnerable people to housing, health and social services.
Rhys has been in recovery for 18 months and volunteers. He says he recently asked for a carrier bag in Aldi and scanned it straight away. A 30p bag, he noted, from a man who used to fill a suitcase there.
The crackdown
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, announced on Wednesday a pilot aimed at around 500 of the country’s most prolific shop thieves. The Grocer reported that up to 17 forces will take part, including West Midlands, Merseyside and the Met. Other outlets give figures of 16 or 18.
Measures include town centre and high street bans, tagging, and regular hearings before a judge in intensive supervision courts. Better Retailing reported that each force will pick around 30 offenders. It added that, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council, 9% of offenders account for more than half of retail crime convictions.
The Met says 104 repeat offenders in London were linked to more than 5,300 shoplifting offences over two years, according to the Guardian’s report carried by AOL. A further £2.5m has been set aside, and the government says the scheme will also address drug and alcohol addiction.
The Home Office points to Operation Kelleher in Bromley in 2025, which it says cut recorded retail crime by 70%.
The people who lived it want the treatment side funded properly. Sean says many of his friends turned to shop theft because they saw “no consequences”, and he argues the response should be help, not prison.
The pilot starts in stages from early next year, with all areas due to be running by spring, Convenience Store reported.
Sources: The Guardian, The Grocer, Better Retailing, AOL (Guardian syndication), Convenience Store
This story was compiled by the MDW Newsdesk with AI-assisted tools, using the reporting credited above. Image by kc0uvb from Pixabay
