Prolific Sussex shoplifters jailed following county-wide police operation

“With shoplifting increased in Sussex, like it has nationally, we are making it a priority to work with businesses and other partners to prevent, detect and identify shoplifters.” said Sussex Police business crime lead Chris Neilson.

“A dedicated business crime team helps focus our response to organised retail crime through to local prolific offenders.

“Our operation sees us use every avenue available to tackle prolific shoplifters, change their behaviour and protect retailers.”

The outcomes, alongside charges, include prison sentences, civil orders and community resolutions aimed at managing offenders and bringing about behavioural change, including prohibiting them from entering premises to protect retailers and referrals to drug rehabilitation services.

Police said that in 2024, West Sussex saw successful outcomes increase by 78%, compared to the previous year. Brighton and Hove saw successful outcomes rise by 41% and East Sussex by 156%.

Chris said: “Prolific offenders cause the most harm to businesses, and we understand the financial and personal impact of shoplifting on business owners, employees and the wider community. In Sussex data some 38% of our known offenders have committed three crimes or more.

“By using CCTV and facial recognition to identify suspects, and capturing all their offending, we enable the court to robustly deal with them. This has led to severe sentences backed by behaviour measures, including a condition to engage in drug rehabilitation, to deter additional offending."

Recent sentences as part of the operation include:

Damien O’Hare, 48, of no fixed address, who was jailed for three years and three months for 26 counts of shoplifting, 22 counts of breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order and one count of using insulting/threatening language. He would target some stores in Crawley multiple times on the same day and when challenged, threatened to violently assault a member of staff.

Karlie Everson, 38, of Worthing, was jailed for 18 months last month for 13 counts of shoplifting, eight breaches of a Criminal Behaviour Order, possession of a Class A drug and for assault by beating after assaulting a member of retail staff. On one occasion she stole £840 worth of stock in a single incident.

Lee Parnaby, 32, and Leander Fitzgerald, 30, of Eastbourne, stole items worth more than £5,000 combined during 44 shoplifting incidents in the town. They were sentenced to 26 weeks’ imprisonment each.

In January, in Brighton, David Jones was sentenced to six months' imprisonment after being convicted of 11 counts of shoplifting, 11 breaches of a criminal behaviour order and ordered to pay £228.

Darrell Allinson, 40, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 26 weeks' imprisonment after being convicted of eight counts of shoplifting and Akbar Karyani, 46 of no fixed address, sentenced to 26 weeks' imprisonment for 10 counts of shoplifting and two breaches of a criminal behaviour order.

Chris added: “We have successfully engaged and provided effective reporting pathways for businesses to make reporting as easy as possible, so we can get an accurate picture of both the volume of incidents and the nature of those incidents. We can then assess the intelligence, investigate where there are reasonable lines of enquiry, implement crime hotspot patrol activity and problem solve the issues with businesses.

“We investigate whenever there are reasonable lines of enquiry, such as CCTV, vehicles or possible suspects and prioritise cases if violence has been used, if a person has been detained, if offending is prolific or if it is linked to other incidents.

“By focusing on prolific offenders we have doubled to more than 3,400, the number of successful outcomes compared to previous years.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne said: “I’m delighted at the recent outcomes from Operation Apprentice and these excellent results speak for themselves. It’s clear that Sussex Police are taking retail crime seriously, ensuring that our retailers and business-owners have the confidence to report crime secure in the knowledge that criminals will be apprehended and our high streets made safer.”