A woman in recovery from drug addiction has said that harsher penalties would not have deterred her from shoplifting while she was dependent on cocaine, highlighting how criminal sanctions alone fail to address the root causes of theft-related offending.
Jade Smith, 35, from Skelton in Cleveland, spent years prioritising drug purchases over basic necessities, then stealing food and household items when money ran out before her next wage. After multiple convictions, a period of homelessness including living in a tent, she is now five to six weeks into recovery at a rehabilitation facility in Preston and working to repair relationships with her children and wider family.
How addiction drove the cycle of theft
Smith explained that her drug use became the dominant force shaping her criminal behaviour. She began taking drugs as a teenager, influenced by older people in her social circle, and the habit progressively took over her life and decision-making.
"I'd spend all my money on my drugs and then I'd have nothing to live on until I got paid next,"she said, describing how she would steal essentials after exhausting her income on cocaine.
The fear of arrest never broke the cycle because survival needs felt more urgent than legal consequences.
"When you've got no choice and you think, 'How am I going to live for the month?', you don't really think at the time. You're just thinking of what you need to do."
When asked directly whether tougher criminal penalties would have stopped her offending, Smith was clear:
"Probably, yeah, because it's just what you've got to do at the time to get through in your life."
Smith's experience reflects broader patterns in shoplifting-related crime. A reformed shoplifter now working as a criminal justice lead for Red Rose Recovery Preston has described similar motivations, noting that
"I've been in addiction myself, and one of the parts of my addiction was stealing from shops to fund my drug habit, and to feed myself, to clothe myself."
The human cost of her actions
Smith expressed genuine remorse for the impact her behaviour had on shop workers and the wider community.
"I do now think about the shop workers and how they felt. I'd like to apologise. I wish I'd thought at the time how other people would be feeling and not just myself. It was quite selfish really."
She described feeling
"ashamed", "embarrassed" and guiltyabout her past actions and acknowledged that she had not considered the effect on those working in retail when she was caught in the grip of addiction.
A criminal record spanning years
Smith's contact with the criminal justice system began in her teenage years. She was convicted of fraud at 16 after stealing cheques from her father's cheque book. More serious consequences followed when she received a three-year prison sentence in 2019 for a street robbery, a conviction that marked an escalation in her offending.
The consequences of her addiction extended far beyond criminal convictions. Homelessness followed, including a period living in a tent, before she eventually accepted a place at a rehabilitation facility with support from friends and a charity organisation.
What finally prompted change
Separation from her children became the turning point that made Smith recognise the need for fundamental change.
"I do want to put things right, prove to them that I can change and change for good this time and I'm not just saying it,"she said.
Her journey mirrors the experiences documented in programmes designed to redirect drug-addicted shoplifters into treatment and therapy rather than purely punitive responses, which have shown that residential rehabilitation can offer pathways out of the offending cycle.
The scale of shoplifting in the region
Smith's case comes against a backdrop of rising shoplifting offences in her local area. Shoplifting crimes in the Cleveland Police area increased by nearly 15% in the last financial year, representing the biggest percentage increase recorded anywhere in the country.
Cleveland Police stated that it remains committed to tackling shoplifting and will continue to deploy all available enforcement tools. However, Smith's account suggests that enforcement alone—without addressing underlying addiction—may have limited effectiveness in breaking the cycle.
Broader investigations have revealed the scale of prolific offending. Research across England found that 270 prolific shoplifters were linked to 28,415 offences between 2020-21 and 2025-26, underscoring how a relatively small number of repeat offenders account for a disproportionate volume of crime.
Rehabilitation as an alternative approach
Smith's recovery at a Preston rehabilitation facility represents an alternative to the purely punitive model. Her willingness to acknowledge the harm caused and her commitment to rebuilding family relationships suggest that treatment-focused interventions may address root causes more effectively than criminal penalties alone.
Her story was also distributed in audio form, reaching audiences through broadcast media on 16 September 2026, extending the reach of her account beyond print.
