South Tyneside shoplifters jailed for almost 16 years in total in 2025

Officers from the Northumbria force’s South Tyneside Neighbourhood Policing Team came together to tackle head-on community concerns relating to retail crime.

It led to 33 offenders being brought to book, facing a total of 362 individual charges.

The resulting court process led to prison sentences totalling 15.84 years being imposed, with 20 community orders and one Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) also issued.

South Tyneside shoplifters jailed after year-long police crackdown, from top left, Jordan Martin, Dillon Lawson, from bottom left, Christopher Sharp and Amanda Liddle (Image: Northumbria Police)

Activity by the team included increased patrols, engaging with the community and close working with South Tyneside’s retailers and their staff to gather the best evidence to help bring offenders to justice.

Among the most prominent of the 33 offenders dealt with were 39-year-old Christopher Sharp, Dillon Lawson, 30, Jordan Martin, 31 and 41-year-old Amanda Liddle, all from South Tyneside.

Christopher Dean Sharp, jailed for spate of offending including shoplifting (Image: Northumbria Police)

Sharp received a 21-year-old prison sentence for 27 charges, including shoplifting.

Lawson received a 16-month prison sentence for 34 charges, including shoplifting.

Shoplifter Dillon Lawson, also jailed after police crackdown (Image: Northumbria Police)

Martin was handed a 15-month sentence for 26 charges, including shoplifting and breaching a CBO.

Jailed shoplifter Jordan Martin (Image: Northumbria Police)

Liddle received and eight-month prison sentence for 24 charges, including shoplifting.

Jailed shoplifter Amanda Jane Liddle (Image: Northumbria Police)

Chief Inspector Phil Baker, of Northumbria Police, said it was, “a great outcome” for the team’s hard work.

“It demonstrates our commitment as a force to addressing the things we know are creating issues within our communities.

“We will continue to build on this good work to create the safest possible environment for people to visit and do business in South Tyneside.”

Read more court stories from The Northern Echo by clicking here

He added: “Having extra eyes and ears in the community is invaluable and helps us build a picture of the criminals operating in the area and ultimately bring them to a halt.

“We would encourage anyone who witnesses anything suspicious in their community to report it to us via direct message on social media, via the ‘instant chat’ section of our website, or by submitting an online form.

“That way, we can carry out the necessary enquiries and ensure every effort is being made to keep you safe.”

But he added that if a crime is ongoing, callers should always ring 999.