Criminal Behaviour Orders are helping to tackle persistent or serious anti‑social behaviour to prevent further offending

A Skegness man has been jailed for 40 weeks after multiple theft and CBO breaches.

David Harkness, 51, of Prince Alfred Avenue, Skegness appeared before Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on Monday 9 February charged with three counts of shop theft and three counts of breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) which had been issued on 19 January prohibiting him from entering any retail premises in Skegness.

The court heard how Harkness pleaded guilty to entering the following stores in breach of the CBO and having left the stores, making no attempt to pay:

He was jailed for 40 weeks and ordered to pay compensation of £73.15 to Spar, and £199 to Marks & Spencer.

The officer in charge of this case, Skegness Community Beat Manager, PC Lucy Hawley, said: “We continue to work closely with our retail and security partners, and that collaboration is proving invaluable in helping us identify and apprehend offenders. We fully understand the impact that shop theft has, not only on store employees, who may find these incidents distressing and intimidating, but also on members of the public who witness them.

“There is also a very real financial cost to businesses. Stolen goods don’t simply disappear from the balance sheet; ultimately, those losses affect everyone.

“While we remain committed to offering support to individuals facing challenging circumstances, persistent offending and repeated breaches of Criminal Behaviour Orders cannot be ignored. Where such behaviour continues, we will pursue all available options to ensure those responsible are brought before the courts and face appropriate consequences.”