Shoplifter jailed after chance stop and search by police on Sheffield city centre car crime operation

Officers from the Sheffield City Centre neighbourhood policing team carried out a stop and search operation, stopping eight people in areas where they had seen a rise in reports of thefts from cars and thefts of cars in the city centre, leading to two arrests.

One of those involved stopping a man who turned out to be a shoplifting suspect.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “Officers stopped a 26-year-old man, as part of a routine stop search, and upon further enquiries, he was found to a suspect for eleven further shoplifting offences in the city centre. The man was arrested and taken to custody where he was charged with eleven counts of theft.”

They added Josh Stone, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison on Thursday by Sheffield magistrates.

Sgt Nikki Watkinson, from the city centre team, said: “We know that being a victim of theft can be a really distressing experience, and therefore, delivering targeted activity to tackle thefts and identify those responsible continues to be a priority for us, not just today, but every day.”

Meanwhile, as part of the efforts to tackle vehicle crime, officers took part in high-visibility patrols and engagement activity in a number of vehicle crime hotspot areas across the city centre. Around 40 vulnerable vehicles were identified, with either items on display, or left in an unsecure manner, and given advice on how to make their vehicle less of a target.