Jail for prolific shop thief who broke court order

One of York’s most prolific shoplifters has been jailed.

Christopher Bullivant, 41, breached a criminal behaviour order by entering several convenience stores in York and stealing items earlier this month.

He has a string of previous offences for retail theft, which led to North Yorkshire Police applying for the order.

It’s the first such order to be issued for shop theft and the force plans to use the legislation more as part of its ongoing push to reduce retail crime.

Bullivant, of no fixed address, was remanded to appear at York Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, where he was jailed for eight months after pleading guilty to breaching a criminal behaviour order.

PC Jonathan Lewis, retail crime officer for York, said after the hearing: “Bullivant is a highly prolific shoplifter. The fact he was the first in North Yorkshire to receive a criminal behaviour order for retail theft speaks volumes about how persistent his offending has been.

“A large part of our work around retail crime is about protecting retail staff and shoppers from the verbal and physical abuse which often accompanies theft.

“Criminal behaviour orders are helping us do that by ensuring offenders are dealt with decisively and we can prevent situations that put shop staff and the public at risk.

“We plan to use more of them as part of our ongoing strategy to tackle retail crime. As this result shows, the police and the courts do not tolerate orders being breached and they give us a quick and decisive way to deal with any criminals who don’t follow them.”

Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) are issued to criminals by a court to prevent further offending, particularly for persistent offenders.

They set out terms, such as places that are off limits or things an offender must do or avoid.

Breaking an order can result in a more substantial prison sentence and offenders usually get taken to court and sentenced quickly.

They are also liable to be sentenced for any criminal offence they commit while the order is in place, in addition to their punishment for breaking the order.