Plan to expand shoplifter rehab as offences soar

Shop thefts have increased, along with the number of people escaping punishment

A scheme to treat offenders with addiction issues in a bid to reduce shoplifting is set to be rolled out across the West Midlands.

Recorded shoplifting offences in the region are on course to double by the end of the year when compared with 2020, according to figures from West Midlands Police.

The Offender to Rehab programme, which already operates in Birmingham, offers treatment and therapy to drug addicts who steal to fund their habit.

People who engage with the programme can avoid prison, and some said the intervention had saved their lives.

The scheme was piloted in Erdington in 2018, then rolled out across the rest of the city three years later.

Within this time, 27 prolific shoplifters were admitted into residential rehab and stopped stealing to feed their habit thanks to the scheme, the force said.

Roger Mann, from Sutton Coldfield, was addicted to heroin and crack cocaine for 25 years, and said he was "on the brink of death" before accepting help.

Roger Mann says he got clean and stopped stealing because of the project

"It's like being reborn, it’s like getting a second chance at life," he said.

"A very extreme and excessive addict I was, a very persistent and prolific offender as well in terms of shoplifting, multiple jail sentences.

"Through the programme, I’ve been able to get off illicit street drugs and it’s provided an option called Buvidal which is a monthly injection which removes the obsession and the compulsion to use.

"It’s like a blocker and if you do use while you’re on it you get really ill."

A freedom of information request to West Midlands Police revealed there were 20,518 shoplifting offences recorded in the region between January and October this year, compared with a total of 11,895 in 2020.

The number of shoplifters going unpunished has also increased this year, with police failing to identify any suspects in 71% of reported thefts from shops between January and October.

Mr Mann says he was on the "on the brink of death" during his drug addiction

PC Stuart Toogood created the Offender To Rehab programme and told the BBC: "You can’t arrest your way out of this situation, it needs more lateral thought.

"The people we help will use anything from £500 to £1,000 worth of heroin and crack a week, so they would have to steal at least three times that amount so they could sell it to afford those drugs.

"What they are spending on drugs is astronomical and the money they are giving to the drug dealers, which of course is linked to organised crime and violence, is astronomical as well."

The Offender to Rehab scheme receives funding from the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, as well as retailers.

The team in Birmingham includes police officers and drug referral workers from the charity Change Grow Live.