WILLENHALL, UK — Police have charged a 38-year-old man, identified as Ian Bennett from Finery Road, Darlaston, in connection with a series of shop thefts that occurred in August and October.
Local officers from the Willenhall policing team detained Bennett following a series of enquiries into multiple retail thefts across the area. He has since been charged with five counts of shop theft and is due to appear before Walsall Magistrates Court on December 3.
A West Midlands Police spokesperson confirmed the ongoing crackdown on retail crime, stating,
“We’re catching hundreds more suspected shop thieves in the West Midlands as part of our ongoing drive to combat retail crime. Arrests for shop theft offences have risen over 60 percent in the last two years as we’ve improved the way we respond to crime reports.”
Police say efforts to deter and prosecute repeat shoplifters remain a priority across the region as part of their retail crime initiative.
