Persistent shoplifters fitted with electronic tags

Police hope GPS ankle devices to monitor repeat offenders will deter crime

Electronic tags are being fitted to persistent shoplifters in Sussex as part of efforts to stop re-offending.

The area's police and crime commissioner (PCC) Katy Bourne is leading a pilot project in East Sussex using the GPS ankle devices to monitor repeat offenders and deter crime.

Two people were recently ordered to wear the tags for 12 months and banned from specific areas of Eastbourne and Hastings as part of court-imposed Criminal Behaviour Orders, the PCC's office revealed.

Ms Bourne said she was "delighted" that Sussex was the first police force to use the technology.

She added: "Deterrents need to be more effective and punishments must be meaningful.

"The tagging pilot is a proactive step forward in achieving this."

There were 20,017 reported shoplifting offences in Sussex from April 2024-March 2025, a 12% increase from the previous year according to the Office for National Statistics.

'Targeted relentlessly'

More than half of incidents were closed without a suspect being identified, the PCC's office said.

Debbie Knight, head of community integration at Kent, Sussex and Surrey Probation, said: "The tagging pilot ensures the monitoring of people on probation, reducing the risk of further offences while we support the individual to address those areas linked to their offending behaviour such as substance misuse."

Adam Godden, an advisor on business crime at Lewes District and Eastbourne Borough councils, said he was looking forward to finding out what relief the project might offer businesses targeted "relentlessly" by offenders.