A prolific shoplifter who stole £2,000 worth of soft drinks from a Greggs store in south London has avoided jail despite pleading guilty to 80 offences. Tiffany O'Neill, 28, was handed a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, at Croydon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
O'Neill has been arrested, charged and remanded to court 11 times since May this year, with police repeatedly bringing her before magistrates as she continued to target the same Greggs branch in Brixton. She was ultimately charged with 69 theft offences before pleading guilty to a total of 80 offences.
Police frustration over sentencing
The outcome has sparked frustration at Scotland Yard, where officers spent more than 120 hours dealing with O'Neill's case, including preparing prosecution files, making further arrests and attending repeated court hearings. New sentencing restrictions introduced earlier this year mean magistrates and judges must suspend prison sentences of less than a year unless specific exceptions apply.
The Metropolitan Police has now called for the criminal justice system to do more to hold prolific offenders to account and stop them repeatedly targeting businesses and communities. O'Neill was granted bail at all but one of her court appearances in recent months, despite repeatedly breaching her bail conditions and returning to the same Greggs store on Electric Avenue in Brixton.
Bail breaches and repeated arrests
She was initially banned from entering the London Borough of Lambeth and ordered to wear a GPS tag as a condition of her bail. But she continued to offend while on bail and the electronic tag was never fitted. Police say previous sentencing hearings had to be adjourned after O'Neill failed to turn up, forcing officers to track her down and arrest her again. A fourth hearing was then delayed earlier this week because of technical problems at the court.
As part of her sentence, O'Neill was also handed a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order banning her from Brixton town centre and every Greggs store in the UK. But the decision to spare her jail time has left police questioning whether the justice system is doing enough to stop persistent offenders from returning to the streets.
Official responses to the case
Sergeant Chris Wilkinson, who led the investigation, said: "Our officers worked relentlessly over several months to build the evidence needed to bring this prolific offender before the courts. Despite multiple arrests and repeated offences, we remained focused on securing a positive outcome for our community. Her persistent offending caused repeated distress to staff, harmed the business and placed a significant demand on police resources."
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: "A small number of prolific offenders continue to be responsible for the majority of crime and harm in our communities. We are increasingly arresting the same people again and again when they ignored bail or license conditions, not complied with their electronic tags, or in many cases all of the above. The cumulative impact on retailers and their staff is enormous."
Roisin Currie CBE, Chief Executive of Greggs, said: "The safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and customers is always our priority, and persistent incidents of theft can have a real impact on those in our shops. We are grateful to the Metropolitan Police for their continued work with retailers, including Greggs, to tackle repeat offending."
Currie added that Greggs continues to strengthen its approach, including the rollout of Auror technology across all of its shops, investment in CCTV and trials of a new shop format in a small number of locations exposed to higher levels of anti-social behaviour. She also welcomed calls for meaningful consequences for those who repeatedly target retailers and expressed a desire for a renewed focus on positive interventions and services that prevent reoffending.
