Prolific shoplifter sentenced for nearly forty offences

A prolific Tauranga shoplifter has been sentenced to two years behind bars after being convicted of nearly forty offences. Police say the investigation started with a single complaint through a retail crime data base, with no confirmed identity and no leads. But an officer was able to build-up a picture of the 45 year old woman who was pinching stuff on an almost daily basis. The conviction follows a controversial directive that set financial benchmarks for investigating petrol drive offs, retail crime and scams. It was quickly canned and since then a review been launched of cases that may have been parked up as a result of the directive. Police Commissioner Richard Chambers spoke to Lisa Owen.