THREE SHOPLIFTERS who were initially arrested for stealing from a Ledbury supermarket have paid double the price of all goods they took in aid of charity.
The theft happened at the Co-op store in New Street about 5.20pm yesterday (Wednesday) which led to two men and a woman being arrested by officers.
All the goods were retrieved but as the three were first time offenders they were dealt with by the means of a community resolution.
With the agreement of the store manager, the three offenders paid double the price for the goods and all money was donated to the Red Cross.
Using a community resolution for first time offenders means officers can deal with the incident effectively and get back out on patrol quicker.
The store manager banned all three from the store.
PCSO David Alexander told the Observer: “They were initially arrested but after checks were carried out and it was determined that neither had offended before, a community resolution was assessed to be the best option.
“Community resolutions are used regularly in low level crime to achieve a swift result and is seen as a key tool in restorative justice.”
