Brighton police and businesses team up to catch prolific shoplifter

A Brighton man who was already banned from Churchill Square for shoplifting has been jailed for breaching his ban and committing multiple more theft offences.

Shaun Foryann, 34, of Middle Street in Brighton, had been given a Community Protection Order forbidding him from entering locations including Churchill Square, Western Road and North Street in September, 2021, for persistent shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

He was also serving a suspended sentence for 16 counts of shoplifting.

But on February 9 he was confronted by Churchill Square security after entering the Apple store and on Sunday and Monday, March 27 and 28, he was caught on CCTV in Vision Express stealing £2,810-worth of sunglasses.

Foryann was also captured on CCTV stealing more than £600 of products from Hugo Boss in East Street on February 27, and returned three days later to steal a pair of tracksuit bottoms worth £139.

On March 29, Foryann was chased out of JoJo jewellers in Kensington Gardens as he brazenly attempted to steal jewellery worth around £1,000, but dropped a tray on the floor. This offence was also captured on CCTV.

He was arrested later that day and charged with five counts of shoplifting, breaching his Community Protection Notice and for being in possession of cannabis.

At Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday (March 30), Foryann was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to 58 weeks in prison.

Foryann’s conviction was the result of partnership working between Sussex Police, Brighton and Hove’s Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) and Business Improvement District (BID) ambassadors under the banner of Operation Apprentice.

Operation Apprentice is the police response to business crime and anti-social behaviour in Brighton and Hove, through which officers work closely with the business community to identify areas and individuals of concern and work together to share information, gather intelligence and take positive action.

PC Sophie Perkins, of Brighton and Hove’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Shaun Foryann’s existing Community Protection Order was testament to the scale of shoplifting and anti-social behaviour to which he subjected the businesses of Brighton and Hove.

“In total disregard of the numerous banning orders against his name, Foryann continued to terrorise shopworkers with threatening, intimidating behaviour and thefts worth thousands of pounds.

“I would like to thank the businesses for their support in this investigation and will reaffirm our commitment to clamping down on business crime and protecting our local traders.”

Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne said: “Business crime is never a victimless crime and its impact can be extremely harmful. It is heartening to see everyone working well together to stamp this out, as this is exactly what our Safer Sussex Business Partnership was set up to encourage.

“The effective partnerships are making it difficult for criminals to hide and it’s great that, in this case, a prolific offender has been taken off the streets, allowing retail staff to feel secure in their workplaces and customers to be able to shop in a safer environment. Our message is clear – business crime matters in Sussex.”