An off-duty police inspector arrested a thief while on a shopping trip to a precinct in Bingham.
Inspector Richard Hallam was in Eaton Place, Bingham, at around 11.30am on Monday (5 October) when he heard a shop alarm sounding.
The officer spotted a man, later identified as shoplifter Dominic Hodgkinson, fleeing the Boots store with his arms full of boxes containing various electrical goods.
Some of the items still had tags on, and it was later found that they had a value of almost £800.
Insp Hallam, a response policing inspector based in Nottingham, followed Hodgkinson and identified himself as an officer before grabbing his arm.
“I could see he was scanning for escape routes and trying to pull away from me,” Insp Hallam said.
“I had to drop my shopping and grab him in a bear hug to stop him from fleeing.
“He was swinging his arms around, so I had to push him against a metal bench and hold him against it.”
The incident unfolded in front of a number of other shoppers, and an off-duty prison officer stepped in to assist.
“I’m grateful for his help, and between us, we eventually managed to get the shoplifter sitting down on the bench,” Insp Hallam added.
“A uniformed officer arrived a short time later, and we were able to get him safely in cuffs.
“He behaved aggressively throughout this period, and I could see from the faces of some of the elderly people who had gathered that they were shocked by his behaviour.
“I did what any police officer would have done, and I’m pleased we were able to charge Hodgkinson and place him before the courts.”
Hodgkinson, aged 35, of St James’s Street, Nottingham, went on to plead guilty to shop theft and resisting arrest at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (6 October).
He also admitted two further shop thefts and was handed a 26-week jail sentence, suspended for 12 months.
The force has written a letter of thanks to the off-duty prison officer who stepped in to help.
