Britain's most prolific shoplifter to be released from prison on Monday following 172nd conviction
7 October 2024, 15:21
Britain's most prolific shoplifter is due to be released from prison next Monday following her 172nd conviction and having racked up 400-plus arrests and 350 crimes.
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Tanya Liddle's most recent stint in jail was for breaching a two-year ban imposed by Northumbria police in September, preventing her from visiting almost every shop within the force’s jurisdiction.
This ban was put in place while she was awaiting trial after being arrested for attempting to walk out of an Asda store with £131 worth of clothes and a handbag in August.
Liddle is now due to be released from prison on Monday next week after being given a conditional discharge following her latest arrest in August meaning she did not receive any extra jail time for her 172nd conviction.
The Sunday Times reported that she appeared in court via video link from HM Prison Low Newton in Durham last week.
Liddle’s arrest came a day after she attempted to steal £72.50 of laundry products from Asda before being intercepted by staff who did not report the incident to police on that occasion, Newcastle magistrates heard last week.
She then returned the next day and while trying to walk out with £131 worth of goods, she was arrested.
Liddle served time in prison in May and July this year but only served half the time on both occasions with her victims saying time and again she is not “properly punished”.
She has more than 170 convictions for more than 350 offences, most of which are shoplifting, but also include assault, threatening or abusive behaviour, and drug possession.
Liddle has a reputation within her community for using drugs, including heroin and cocaine, according to a social worker who has worked with Liddle.
Although drugs did not factor in her latest sentencing, substance misuse has been considered in previous theft convictions.
Read more: Reformed ex-prisoner recalled to jail after missing probation appointment 20 years ago
Shop staff say the ban “won't stop her” - in fact they will be watching and waiting expecting her to arrive early next week
One store manager said: “We've been plagued by Tanya for many years now. When she's out of prison she tends to try her luck at our shop on almost a daily basis”, according to MailOnline.
Another manager from the area told The Sunday Times: “She was out of prison five weeks ago, that same day she was shoplifting again.”
Emmeline Taylor, a criminology professor at City University, said: “The courts have frustrated all options and are not sure what else to do. For drug-addicted offenders, the only effective treatment is rehabilitation”.
Analysis of her 40 most recent charges since June 2020 shows Liddle has stolen or been accused of stealing £10,496 worth of goods.
On one occasion she was charged with stealing £18-worth of chocolate from a service station, on another she made off with £1,500 worth of handbags from TK Maxx.
The average value of her haul is £256, and they have included items including cleaning products, gin, cosmetics, meat, solar lights, bedding, noodles and a Pokémon ball while tech products feature most regularly.
Liddle's one-woman crime wave is part of a much larger shoplifting epidemic, which the British Retail Consortium (BRC) says costs retailers £1.8billion-a-year.
There were more than 430,000 cases in 2023 - many by repeat offenders - the worst on record, it was reported yesterday.
Liddle is due to be released from prison on Monday next week, and will remain under supervision until July next year.
