A PROLIFIC shoplifter who plagued a number of shops in the county town of North Yorkshire has been “named and shamed” by the police.

Graham McDonald, 34, has become the first subject of a new scheme aimed at highlighting the behaviour of offenders who cause misery to communities within the county.

Police say that under the scheme criminals who have disrupted the lives of law-abiding residents can expect to have their identities publicised on posters, leaflets and the media.

McDonald was issued with a Criminal Anti-Social Behaviour Order at Northallerton Magistrates’ Court in August which banned him from all retail premises’ on the town’s High Street.

He was also banned from Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Sam Turner & Sons on Darlington Road, B&Q on Yafforth Road, and Homebase and Halfords on Willow Beck Road.

Now the public being are urged to contact the Northallerton Safer Neighbourhood Team if they see him in any of the shops he is banned from entering.

The publicising of offenders’ details is seen as a means of deterring them from breaching the terms of their court orders and reducing the likelihood of them re-offending.

Sergeant Simon Wilson, of Northallerton Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “People who commit crimes at the expense of our communities and disrupt the lives of our residents deserve to be exposed.

“It is unacceptable that criminals can go about their illegal activities without the public knowing who they are.

“This new scheme allows us to let people know the identity of individuals who are blighting their area and give them the chance to report any further offending.”

He added: “We are also hoping that by highlighting the behaviour of offenders it will make them think twice before re-offending which can only have a positive effect in terms of crime levels.”

*Anyone who would like to report a crime can contact North Yorkshire Police on 0845 6060 247.

Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.