Chiswick High Road shoplifter banned for five years as Met’s new CCTV reporting tech reaches Hounslow

Hassan Hannach caught on CCTV leaving a shop with stolen goods. The footage was submitted to police through the Met’s new rapid-reporting system. (Still from footage released by the Met)

Shop staff can now upload CCTV evidence straight to police within minutes, and cases reported through the system are four times more likely to end in a caution or charge

Hassan Hannach, 47, of Tomlinson Close, Chiswick, has been banned from every business on Chiswick High Road for five years after a string of shop thefts.

Hannach appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 30 July, where he was given a 12-month community and rehabilitation order and a fine. He was also made subject to a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO).

Under the terms of the CBO, Hannach cannot enter any commercial premises on Chiswick High Road. He is also barred from entering a retail premises with his face covered, and from carrying retail goods worth more than £10 in their original packaging without proof of purchase.

The Met has named Hannach’s case as one of several recent examples to come from its new rapid-evidence reporting system, which is being extended to Hounslow from today. The system lets shop staff upload CCTV footage, witness statements and incident logs directly to investigating officers within minutes, cutting what could previously take up to four weeks under paper-based reporting.

Major retailers including Boots, Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Greggs have already adopted the system. It has been piloted in six London boroughs and is being extended to eight more from today, including Hounslow, Ealing and Hillingdon.

Met figures show that where a shoplifting offence is reported through the new platform, 29.4 per cent of cases result in a caution, charge or other criminal disposal, compared with a historic average of 7.3 per cent.

Chief Inspector Rav Pathania, the Met’s lead officer for business crime, said: ‘By receiving CCTV footage and evidence directly from retailers at the point a crime is committed, we can build stronger cases and act more decisively. Shoplifters should be under no illusion, we are increasing our capability to catch you and put you before the courts.’

In nearby Ealing, Michael Belgrave, 55, of no fixed address, was jailed for nine months at Ealing Magistrates’ Court on Friday 12 June after stealing more than £4,000 worth of goods from stores including Greggs and BP. He was also handed a five-year CBO banning him from every Greggs, BP and Holland & Barrett branch in England and Wales.

Across London, reported shoplifting fell by almost four per cent in the last financial year, around 3,500 fewer offences, while arrests for retail crime rose by nearly 50 per cent, according to the Met.