A 43-year-old man has been jailed for 1 year and four months following a number of shoplifting incidents and associated assaults on shop staff in Southsea and Warsash.
Stefan Frederick Falzon of Outram Road in Southsea entered guilty pleas to five offences of theft from a shop and five assaults at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Monday 6 January. He was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday 11 March.
On three consecutive days from Saturday 14 December 2024 Falzon took a bag into the Spar shop on St James’ Road in Southsea and filled it with laundry products and confectionary before leaving without paying. When he was challenged he assaulted a staff member and made threats.
On Sunday 22 December Falzon then assaulted three members of staff at the Tesco Express on Warsash Road while attempting to steal items. He also assaulted a member of staff and stole items from the Co-Op store on the same road on the same day. No-one was seriously hurt. Falzon stole more than £650 of stock from the three stores.
Sgt Lee Pymont from Portsmouth’s Neighbourhood Policing Team said, “Targeting shoplifters continues to be a major priority in the city and we are committed to getting justice for the businesses and employees that are effected.
“Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. For businesses, it can cause unbelievable financial damage, and for retail workers it can often mean having to face abuse and violence from the offenders.
“Shoplifting will not be tolerated by our Neighbourhood Policing Teams across Hampshire, and results like this demonstrate that offenders will be pursued and dealt with robustly.
“Please continue to report incidents of shoplifting to us, as this helps us build a stronger picture of prolific offenders and hot-spot areas for crime”.
Our Neighbourhood Policing Teams are continuing to target shoplifters and we will be relentlessly pursuing those that are violent to staff or are repeat offenders.
To help protect your business:
- Make sure staff are able to use any appropriate security equipment such as panic alarms.
- Make sure CCTV cameras are in good working order, the position provides the best possible coverage and they are serviced annually.
- Remind staff to report any suspicious activity to the manager or the police. Details should also be recorded and include: date, time, description of person.
The community are our eyes and ears and we encourage you to report all incidents as soon as you are able to by calling 101 if it’s not an emergency.
You can also report suspicious activity online by visiting our website: https://www.hampshire.police.uk
If a crime is in progress, always call 999.