Adam Summerford, a 33-year-old prolific shoplifter with no fixed address, has been sentenced to 32 weeks in prison after targeting businesses in Eastbourne Old Town. Summerford repeatedly stole items from Co-op, Sainsbury’s, and The Post Office between November 2022 and January 2023.
Summerford was easily identifiable by staff members and captured on CCTV during his crimes. He was arrested and charged with 11 counts of theft before being remanded in custody. Despite already being on a suspended sentence for theft, Summerford pled guilty to all 11 charges during an earlier hearing at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on March 20.
In addition to his prison sentence, Summerford was ordered to pay £515 in compensation.
Police Community Support Officer Julian Williams, from the Eastbourne Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Summerford is well-known for his previous offences of shoplifting in the area and could therefore be easily identified by staff who reported the incidents to us.
“This led to him being arrested by officers, and he was remanded in custody to prevent him from re-offending and causing further harm to our communities.
Sussex Police has a dedicated Business Crime Team (BCT) that collaborates with partners like the Business Crime Reduction Partnership and Safer Sussex Business Partnership (SSBP), as well as local businesses and customers, to gather intelligence and address crime across the county.
Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne, who launched the SSBP in February 2020, emphasized that shoplifting is not a victimless crime:
“It’s clear that this prolific offender, who caused major distress to shop staff and their customers, thought he would continually get away with it and go unchallenged.
“A prison sentence is a great result and is another example of the effective work taking place between retail stores, Sussex Police and our courts.
“I know it will be very welcome news to those living, working and visiting Eastbourne, as the high streets become a safer place for everyone.”
