Prolific Peterborough shoplifter who was given second chance jailed after being caught again

A prolific shoplifter who was given a second chance by the courts has been jailed.

On 13 September last year, Joanne Scanlon, 36, entered Tesco, Werrington with a 28-year-old woman. The pair concealed four bottles of alcohol valued at a total of £148 in a bag for life before exiting the store through the self-service till area without making payment.

Scanlon, of Branston Rise, Welland, was arrested for the shoplifting offence on 4 October at Cash Shop, Midgate, and bailed to appear in court on 10 January but she failed to attend.

After the closure of an address in Lincoln Road, Peterborough city centre, which forbids visitors to enter the property, the local Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) were carrying out compliance checks on 13 January when they found Scanlon, of Branston Rise, Welland, hiding in the bathroom of the property and arrested her for breaching the court order.

She told officers that she was aware of the closure order but needed to use the toilet.

She appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday (15 January), where she was jailed for 12 weeks – which includes the activation of a previously suspended sentence for shoplifting – after admitting breaching a closure order and theft from a shop.

She was also ordered to pay £148 in compensation to Tesco.

PC Aaron Young, who investigated, said: “Scanlon was given a second chance by the courts with being given a suspended sentence, however she made the decision to ignore it and is now having to accept the consequences.”