Chris Downes’s piercing blue eyes stare out from the mugshot on a Cheshire Police news release. “He has been causing problems within this town through shoplifting for over two decades,” it reads. The notice announces a criminal behaviour order banning the 60-year-old from Macclesfield town centre and every Co-op store in Cheshire.
“I feel like I’ve been punished twice,” Chris says, frustrated by the impact of the banning order on his day-to-day life. With limited access to essentials like doctor’s appointments and groceries, he finds it especially difficult as a carer for his elderly mother.
Chris is among the countless shoplifters rarely heard from in the broader conversation about Britain’s shoplifting surge. He has agreed to speak out. “Why did I do it? I did it because of a drug problem. I had no option,” he explains.
He acknowledges that his actions were wrong but justifies them by saying, “It wasn’t hurting any individual as I see it. I wasn’t taking old ladies’ handbags… needs must, I suppose.”
Addiction is a common theme in shoplifters’ stories, and Chris’s tale is no different. His words echo those of others in similar situations: they wish to break free, but the cycle is difficult to escape. He vividly describes the agonising feeling of craving a hit, saying it’s like being “peeled alive,” where even “your hair hurts.” The drive to satisfy that urge can override everything.
Many shoplifters also say they target larger stores, believing that the losses of high street chains matter less than those of small, independent businesses. Chris shares another insight from his years as a thief: “You’d be surprised who shoplifts,” he says. “Being a shoplifter, you notice people more than security guards do. While they’re focused on me, I’ve seen little old ladies with trolleys lined with foil, putting bottles of whisky in. I’ve seen it very often.”
Times have changed, though, even for shoplifters. Chris says that £100 worth of stolen goods once fetched him £50 but that he’s now lucky to get £20.
The responsibility of caring for his mother has inspired Chris to clean up his life. Forty years of addiction have taken their toll, ruining his career as a cabinet maker and ceramicist. Yet, despite his troubled past, he holds onto hope for a better future.
Others, like Cullan Mais, have managed to break free from the cycle. As he walks through a suburban shopping street in Cardiff, Cullan recounts his past as a highly successful shoplifter, pointing out where and what he used to steal. He remembers the thrill and money his criminal career brought him, admitting to once stealing millions of pounds worth of goods, though he made far less than the retail value.
Cullan, like Chris, was driven by addiction. “Every day, without fail, you’re going to make the money you need to make,” he says. But over time, greed took hold, and the lifestyle became even more intoxicating.
Now healthier and working to help others overcome addiction, Cullan still battles the temptations of his past. He admits that even after recovery, the impulse remains. “Shoplifting to me was an addiction in itself,” he confesses, describing the rush it brought him. Last Christmas, hearing festive songs on the radio triggered memories of the times he went out to steal during the holidays to fund his habit.
For Cullan, the solution is clear: rehabilitation, not prison, is the answer. “Prison just made me a better criminal,” he reflects.
However, for the police and courts, dealing with a crime that costs businesses millions each year, imprisonment often seems the only viable option. Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss, National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for shoplifting, emphasises the impact on victims. “Retail crime has a significant impact on victims,” he says, underlining the authorities’ commitment to pursuing prolific offenders who cause misery in the community.
Reducing Crime: The Way Forward
Rehabilitation is increasingly recognised as a more effective approach than imprisonment for preventing crime, both by reducing recidivism and addressing the underlying causes of criminal behaviour. From the perspectives of social policy, sociology, and psychology, it becomes clear that rehabilitative interventions offer long-term benefits for individuals and society at large, while prison often exacerbates existing issues without providing sustainable solutions.
Social Policy and Crime Prevention
Social policy plays a central role in shaping responses to crime. The shift towards rehabilitation reflects growing recognition that simply locking people away does little to address the root causes of criminality. Imprisonment, particularly for non-violent offenders, has been criticised for its high costs and limited effectiveness in reducing reoffending rates. A study by the Ministry of Justice in 2019 revealed that nearly half of all adults released from prison reoffended within a year, highlighting the limitations of prison as a deterrent.
By contrast, rehabilitation programmes are designed to tackle the underlying factors that lead individuals into crime, such as substance abuse, mental health issues, or poverty. Addressing these root causes through social support, education, and psychological interventions can help break the cycle of criminal behaviour. For example, the UK’s use of drug treatment programmes, mental health support, and vocational training for offenders has shown promising results in reducing reoffending rates. When individuals receive the help they need to overcome personal difficulties, they are less likely to return to crime.
Furthermore, rehabilitation aligns with the broader goals of social policy by fostering social inclusion and reducing the burden on the prison system. Investing in community-based rehabilitation programmes helps reintegrate individuals into society as productive members, which can alleviate some of the financial and social costs associated with incarceration. The cost of keeping someone in prison is far higher than enrolling them in a rehabilitation programme, making rehabilitation a more sustainable option for society.
Sociology and the Impact of Prison
From a sociological perspective, prison is often seen as an institution that reinforces social inequalities and exacerbates marginalisation. Many offenders come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the experience of imprisonment can deepen their exclusion from mainstream society. Imprisonment disrupts employment, family ties, and social networks, making it difficult for individuals to reintegrate after release.
Sociologists argue that rehabilitation offers a more humane and socially constructive approach. By focusing on the needs of the individual and providing them with the skills and resources to re-enter society, rehabilitation can help prevent the social isolation that often leads to reoffending. Programmes that offer education, training, and counselling can empower individuals to change their lives, reducing the stigma they face upon release and increasing their chances of securing employment and housing.
The theory of labelling in sociology further supports the case for rehabilitation. When individuals are labelled as “criminals” by the justice system and society, they are more likely to internalise this identity and continue engaging in criminal behaviour. Rehabilitation aims to change this narrative by helping individuals redefine themselves and their role in society. By focusing on their potential rather than their past, rehabilitation reduces the likelihood of offenders re-entering the criminal justice system.
Psychological Approaches to Crime
Psychology offers significant insights into why rehabilitation is more effective than punishment in reducing crime. Criminal behaviour is often the result of complex psychological factors, such as trauma, addiction, or mental health disorders. Prison rarely addresses these issues and, in many cases, may aggravate them. The stressful and often violent environment of prison can worsen mental health conditions, leading to a cycle of frustration, anger, and further criminality.
Rehabilitation, on the other hand, takes a more therapeutic approach by recognising that many offenders need psychological support to change their behaviour. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is one psychological intervention that has shown great success in helping individuals understand and change their patterns of thinking that lead to criminal acts. Programmes like CBT work by identifying the thought processes that drive offending behaviour, such as impulsivity or anger management issues, and equipping individuals with strategies to deal with these triggers in healthier ways.
Addiction treatment is another crucial element of rehabilitation. Many offenders are trapped in a cycle of crime to support drug or alcohol dependencies. Rehabilitation programmes that focus on addiction recovery address one of the key drivers of criminal behaviour. By providing individuals with the tools to overcome addiction, these programmes reduce the likelihood that they will reoffend. The success of drug courts, where offenders are offered treatment instead of imprisonment, demonstrates how addressing the psychological roots of addiction can prevent future criminal activity.
Rehabilitation: A Path to Long-term Solutions
While prison may be necessary for violent and dangerous offenders, for many individuals, it is a short-term solution that fails to address the long-term causes of crime. Rehabilitation, by focusing on the social, psychological, and economic factors that drive criminal behaviour, offers a more holistic and effective approach to preventing crime.
Rehabilitation programmes not only reduce reoffending but also promote healthier individuals and stronger communities. By investing in the rehabilitation of offenders, society can reduce the social and economic costs of crime, while giving individuals the opportunity to lead fulfilling lives beyond the criminal justice system.
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