What happens when a shoplifter is brought before the courts?

Shoplifting has been described as a blight on UK high streets, costing retailers more than £2bn a year. Police insist it is a priority and have vowed to punish offenders. What happens when they reach court? The BBC spent a day there to find out.

"Good morning," shouts the prisoner on the TV screen at Colchester Magistrates' Court, as it crackles into life in August.

The magistrates are facing their first defendant of the day, 44-year-old Robert Downey, who appears via a video link from prison.

Alcohol, pet food and washing capsules are all items he admits stealing from shops in Clacton-on-Sea and Holland-on-Sea in late-2025, to the tune of £504.50.

Magistrates give him a conditional discharge, as he is already serving a prison sentence for linked offending.

It means Downey avoids punishment for the thefts, so long as he does not commit further offences.

Downey, of Broadway, Jaywick, is told he must compensate one of the shops £100 and pay a £26 victim surcharge.

"If you could avoid going into shops and taking goods without paying for them, that would be much appreciated," presiding magistrate Martin Stuchfield urges him.

Downey shares his satisfaction at the sentence, which means he remains on track to be released from prison shortly.

He adds: "That's got the day off to a good start, hasn't it? A happy camper."

Shoplifting offences totalled 502,011 in England and Wales in the 2025-26 financial year.

Essex Police said it recorded 13,675 offences by the end of July.

Both represented falls of 4% and 7% respectively from the year before.

Shoplifting is estimated to cost retailers and customers £2.2bn a year, according to the British Retailers Association.

Sgt Christian Denning, who leads Essex Police's business crime unit, tells the BBC everyday goods - particularly meat and alcohol - remain common targets for thieves.

"They're very easy things to sell on in pubs. The general public always like a drink and a steak for their dinner," he says.

"Once it's consumed, it's no longer hanging around anyone's neck like a giant albatross."

Next up for the magistrates is 26-year-old Rory Lockley-Steward, from Braintree.

He pleads guilty to stealing £735.64 of goods across eight occasions, as well as a £229 Coach handbag from Braintree Village that was recovered by security staff.

Various Co-op shops in Bocking and Braintree were targeted, as was a Tesco and an M&S where Lockley-Steward snatched £50 worth of steaks.

With dozens of previous convictions, Lockley-Steward is a prolific offender and has more than £5,000 in outstanding fines from previous crimes.

"Since the age of 18, he's only ever spent, at most, eight months out of custody," says his barrister, Kristina Smith.

She tells the magistrates her client is motivated to "address the underlying issues".

They agree to give him a chance, sentencing Lockley-Steward to 46 weeks in custody, suspended for 18 months.

"It's down to me to make that decision and turn my life around before it's too late.

"All I'll see is prison and that's not something I want anymore," he tells magistrates.

Stuchfield replies: "Or the inside of a coffin?"

"Or that, yeah," Lockley-Steward concedes.

He is also ordered to pay £272 in costs and a surcharge, and must undertake 40 days of a rehabilitation activity.

Denning says rehabilitation is key to breaking the cycle of offending, especially when criminals are addicts.

"Rehabilitation to get these people away from these addictions stops the reason for them to steal in the first place," he explains.

He adds preventative measures such as advanced security cameras and customers reporting shoplifting also help to tackle thefts.

Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO) are another handy tool - they forbid offenders from entering certain areas.

Back at court, another defendant admits stealing £75.50 of goods from a BP garage near Orsett.

The court hears he swiped sausages, chicken, pizza, alcohol, Coke and a banana from the shelves.

He is ordered to fully reimburse BP within 56 days.

For Denning, this case disproves a theory that police do not investigate claims below £200.

"We will always take notice and we will always do something," he says.

However, he admits the landscape of catching thieves has evolved.

Online markets and chat groups have proved to be effective ways of selling stolen goods.

"The demand's still there and there's now more ways to meet that demand," Denning adds.

The final defendant on the list is Elliott Carr, a homeless man serving a 15-month prison sentence for breaching a CBO.

Magistrates hear he has 44 convictions for 133 offences, of which 90 are theft-related.

He is back in the dock for using two large bags to steal goods from a Savers shop in Corringham, south Essex.

"He picked up multiple items and put them in both bags," prosecutor Erin Peck says.

She says Carr, 35, told a security guard: "Don't come near me or I'll punch you."

Carr dropped a bag containing £120 of goods, but made off with another.

He pleads guilty to theft and common assault, and is given a conditional discharge.

Magistrates tell the offender he must also compensate the security guard £100.

Denning says it is important not to dehumanise shop workers, adding: "It's not the supermarket that's been threatened, it's an actual person.

"Unlike most crimes, these victims have to go back to the scene of the crime every time."

Denning urges people to think twice before buying potentially stolen goods.

"If you come across a deal that looks too good to be true, don't pay for it," he says.

"Someone has paid the price... We're talking about someone you may know or a friend's family member that's been threatened inside a shop.

"That threat could be the reason why you're getting something for half price."

With Carr's case wrapped up, the magistrates - who have also dealt with cases of assault, drug possession and stalking - are finished for the day.

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