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# Serial shoplifter banned from Ipswich Co-op stores
- URL: https://www.ipswich.co.uk/serial-shoplifter-banned-from-ipswich-co-op-stores/
- Published: 2026-10-13T07:30:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-13T07:30:13.000Z
- Description: A man convicted of 14 shop thefts across Ipswich, including £300 of chocolate in a single raid, has been handed a suspended sentence and banned from six Co-op stores.
- Author: Oliver Rouane-Williams
- Tags: News, Courts, Crime

**Why it matters:** The Criminal Behaviour Order bars Fred Armitage, 42, from entering six East of England Co-op stores in the Ipswich area, offering reassurance to staff and shoppers at those branches.

**The details:** Armitage, of no fixed abode but of the Ipswich area, pleaded guilty to the 14 incidents of theft from shop at Ipswich Magistrates' Court on Monday, 5 October.

- The offences took place between July and September this year.
- On 23 August, chocolate worth more than £300 was stolen from one business.
- Armitage was sentenced to 17 weeks' imprisonment, suspended for two years.

**For context:** Armitage also worked with the Operation Converter team, admitting a further 21 offences that were taken into consideration by the court.

Operation Converter is a police initiative that encourages offenders to admit crimes they have committed. Offenders must give officers sufficient detail to be sure they committed the offence, which is then taken into consideration at sentencing. The police say that the scheme gives victims peace of mind that an offender has been caught, while allowing the individual to clear their slate for a fresh start. It also enables them to clear their case load.

**The bottom line:** Armitage avoided an immediate prison term but was banned from six local Co-op stores, after admitting to a total of 35 offences across the town.

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