First shoplifters to be tagged revealed by police

Barry Farthing and Victoria Hale have been ordered to wear tags for 12 months

The first shoplifters to be fitted with electronic tags have been revealed by Sussex Police.

Barry Farthing, 41, and Victoria Hale, 50, have been ordered to wear the tags for 12 months and avoid specific areas containing supermarkets in East Sussex.

Sussex Police said it was the first force in the country to tag prolific shoplifters as part of a drive to cutdown on reoffending.

The area's police and crime commissioner (PCC) Katy Bourne is leading a pilot project which is using the GPS technology to track the movements of repeat offenders and deter crime.

In separate cases, Hale, from Eastbourne, was tagged for shoplifting offences, while Farthing, from Hastings, will wear the device after serving eight months in prison for theft, Sussex Police said.

Under the scheme, repeat offenders will be fitted with small ankle tags as part of court-imposed Criminal Behaviour Orders, or with the agreement of the probation service.

Police said the technology would monitor shoplifters in real-time and allow "swift action" should conditions be breached or devices tampered with.

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

John Bownas, from the Hastings Business Crime Reduction Partnership, said he hoped the scheme would send a "strong message" to people that they could not steal goods without consequences.

"With incidents of shop theft on the rise across the country this could be an important step in reversing the trend," he added.

There were more than 20,000 reported shoplifting offences in Sussex in the year up to March, a 12% increase from the previous year according to the Office for National Statistics.

Ch Supt Katy Woolford said the crime had an "enormous impact" on businesses and the community.

She added: "We will use all of the tools at our disposal to support businesses and ensure that prolific offenders are brought to justice.

"In Sussex we are leading the way with this innovative scheme to tackle repeat offenders and we will continue to work closely with our partners to protect our business community."