When a prolific former Hastings shoplifter met the man determined to stop him

Jeff Ashman, once a persistent offender, now a reformed character who helps and advises others, met for coffee with his old nemesis John Bownas to talk about old times.

They were brought together by the BBC for a feature on the rise of shoplifting across the South East.

"You and this town and shoplifting eh?” said John as they sat down together outside a coffee shop.

Jeff told John: “You were public enemy number one to shoplifters. I knew who you were. I knew what you did and I tried to stay out of your way.” He even admitted dashing into charity shops for a quick change of outfit in order to try and fool John.

Asked about how much he stole, Jeff said: “It’s mind-boggling. I would probably walk out with £400 – £500 retail value every day. But from £100 of retail goods I was only getting £20. That for a prolific drug user is not going to last half an hour.”

John said: “Those people who buy things in pubs don’t realise that they are fuelling the problem.” He told Jeff: “It is a shame that the system is letting people down. Many shop staff are just being paid a minimum wage to put a few things on shelves and they are faced with threats of needles and knives. That is not what a young shop worker should be faced with day in, day out.”

Jeff said: “I did it to feed my addiction to heroin and crack cocaine. Shopkeepers, managers of stores, I am regularly having conversations with – it’s making amends. I know the misery, grief and despair that I have caused these people. My days of shoplifting and skullduggery are over.

"It’s good to be sitting here with John talking about working on a solution that can benefit all – addicts and shopkeepers.”

Asked about his opinion on shoplifting, John said: “There is so much going on in their lives, forcing them into this lifestyle. They are human beings – they are real people and they have each got a story to tell.”

Speaking to the Observer, John said: “It was refreshing to appear on this BBC programme as a positive example of how offenders — even those as entrenched as Jeff once was — can turn their lives around. “Being referred to as ‘public enemy number one’ on a mainstream TV news programme at peak time isn’t something most people would wear as a badge of honour. But when the ‘public’ in question is the town’s most prolific shoplifters, it’s perhaps a phrase I might want printed on my gravestone. “The strongest part of this story is that it shows how people living the sort of life Jeff once led can change. The challenge is helping them find the right motivation — the trigger that steers them away from whatever is driving them to steal day in, day out, to feed a habit or addiction. “For the relatively small number of highly prolific shoplifters who plague stores across the town, help is available. As Jeff told me, simply forcing people into support programmes and rehabilitation schemes isn’t necessarily the answer, particularly when this becomes just another part of the revolving-door process of going in and out of prison. “That’s why the wraparound support offered through Sussex Police’s ankle-tagging project is so important. It can help keep people out of prison, provided they behave and adhere to the conditions laid down by the courts. During the six to twelve months they wear the tags, they also receive dedicated support which, hopefully, will help at least some of them follow in Jeff’s footsteps.

“One thing to emphasise is that when the press uses police crime reports as an indicator of what is happening it’s only the tip of the iceberg. The problem is definitely getting worse despite the dip in reports this year nationally. What’s important to focus on is detection and conviction rates.”