Prolific shoplifter banned from Tesco after being charged with 10 counts of theft

Susanna Siddell
Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:29:44 +0000

A prolific shoplifter has been banned from her local Tesco after she was charged with 10 counts of theft.

The Kidderminster woman received a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order following after her thieving spree spanning across big-name retailers.

Samantha James, 39, from Baxter Avenue, appeared before Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on March 30, where the order was imposed.

The serial offender had targeted multiple shops throughout the town between January and March this year during the thieving binge.

Police went on to apprehend James on March 28, subsequently charging her with 10 separate counts of theft from retail premises.

The CBO was granted to prevent further offending by the repeat shoplifter, who had been identified as a persistent problem for local businesses.

Under the terms of the order, James is prohibited from setting foot in the Tesco Express on Stourbridge Road and the B&M store at Spennells Trading Estate on Spennells Valley Road.

The 39-year-old was also banned from entering the Matalan outlet on Park Lane.

She must also vacate any retail premises immediately when requested by staff or security personnel.

PC Luke Catmur, from the Broadwaters safer neighbourhood team, said: "James is a prolific shoplifter and I'm pleased that this CBO has been granted.

"I hope that it will help to protect retailers and the public from her continuous offending."

He added that officers maintain close partnerships with local retailers to combat theft and safeguard communities.

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Businesses are consistently lamenting the growing impact of shoplifting on their livelihood, from small to medium-sized shops feeling the hit the most.

Data aggregated by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) revealed 59 per cent of high street small businesses across the capital claim rising crime and anti-social behaviour has started to threaten their very existence.

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, founder of The Black Farmer in south London, told the BBC: "Shoplifting is the biggest curse for anyone in retail and it's getting worse."

He warned the impact was deteriorating across the city and made him contemplate his business's existence.

Meanwhile, higher-end supermarket Waitrose has been hit with a slew of criticism after the company fired one of its assistants for tackling a shoplifter.

Walker Smith, 54, was fired from his role two days after a "brief struggle" with a shoplifter who was attempting to steal Easter eggs in a south London branch of the high street supermarket.

Staff at the store had been told not to confront people stealing goods. Nevertheless, the worker explained he had been pushed to his limits after watching years of shoplifting go unpunished.

A spokesman for the higher-end supermarket previously told GB News: "The safety and security of our Partners and customers couldn’t be more important to us, and we have policies in place to protect both.

"We’ve had incidents where our Partners have been hospitalised when challenging shoplifters. Luckily, they have always recovered, but that might not always be the case.

"There is a serious danger to life in tackling shoplifters. We refuse to put anyone’s life at risk and that's why we have policies in place that are very clearly understood and must be strictly followed.

"As a responsible employer, we never want to be in a position where we are notifying families of a tragedy because someone tried to stop a theft. Nothing we sell is worth risking lives for."