Offending to Recovery team receive national recognition for life-changing scheme

A West Midlands Police scheme to stop crime and transform lives has won a national retail award.

Offending to Recovery received a Pride of Retail Risk award at a London ceremony, with businesses from around the world in attendance. The awards honour those who are leading the fight against retail crime.

Officers from the Offending to Recovery team accepted the Rehabilitation award along with their colleagues from Change Grow Live, an addiction service that facilitates the rehabilitation of anyone referred to the programme.

News of the award comes during national Safer Business Action Week, an ongoing police and partnership response to tackling retail crime, antisocial behaviour and other crimes impacting businesses in local communities.

Offending to Recovery is just one-way West Midlands Police is driving down shop crime.

What’s Offending to Recovery?

Founded by PC Stuart Toogood in 2018, the Offending to Recovery programme aims to reduce retail crime by rehabilitating the most prolific offenders who steal from shops to fund their drug addiction.

Many referrals come from security guards who see the same faces stealing from their shops every day, but referrals can come from anywhere. This includes shop staff, police officers, outreach workers, retailers or loved ones, as well as individuals who can also refer themselves for help.

Life changing scheme rolls out across the West Midlands

The scheme runs alongside law enforcement, meaning every criminal offence is dealt with and served. Offending to Recovery officers work with offenders in prisons, custody and the community to provide intervention and prevent further offences.

The scheme not only reduces retail crime but also defunds criminal gangs dealing drugs and damages county lines operations.

Gary Chapman, manager of the Offending to Recovery team, said: “The scheme works because the participants want to change. We work closely with Change Grow Live and other partners to deal with the root cause of addiction which is driving them to commit crime. Once we take away the power that drugs have over the person, then the crime stops, it’s as simple as that.

“Having dedicated O2R officers in local areas means we always have a close eye on these prolific offenders. If anyone falls off the wagon, we scoop them back up into custody straight away.

“It is an honour to accept this award, to recognise the hard work of West Midlands Police officers and the addiction service facilitators who are tackling retail crime in new and innovative ways, getting solid results and saving lives every day.”

The prolific offenders who join O2R have are responsible for stealing thousands of pounds worth of goods every day and caused distress to shop staff and security.

The scheme currently operates in Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton, but also accept referrals from other parts of the West Midlands.

Changing lives – Rhy's story so far

Rhys joined the scheme in August after being in addiction for almost five years.

He was a respected business owner in the Dudley area, but his ‘recreational’ drug use turned into a serious addiction when the Coronavirus hit and his business collapsed.

He stole thousands of pounds worth of goods every day from shops in Stourbridge to fund his crack cocaine and heroin addiction.

Rhys quickly gained a reputation with security staff and neighbourhood officers for his brazen theft from shops, serving prison sentences for his crimes on numerous occasions.

“I see fellow O2R clients who are further along in their recovery, and I can’t wait to follow in their footsteps,” said Rhys.

“I’ve met people like me who had solid careers as lawyers or business owners, who have been gripped by drugs. It just shows how addiction can happen to anyone.

“I didn’t want to shoplift. The drugs take control of you and leave you powerless, to the point where you will commit anything or walk over anyone to get your fix. I would handwrite apology letters and hand them to the security as I walked out with a bag full of stolen goods because I knew how much trouble I was causing them.

“The scheme has saved my life and reconnected me with my family. I now care for my two-year-old daughter, go on holidays with my mother and volunteer in the community to help other people struggling with their addiction.”

Businesses can get free crime prevention advice – including preventing shop theft – at

westmidlands.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/keeping-business-safe-from-crime