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<p>There are no current plans to commence Section 151 of the Criminal Justice Act
2003, which allows courts, in certain circumstances, to use community orders for repeat
offenders who might otherwise expect to receive fines.</p><p> </p><p>Section 143(2)
of that Act requires courts to treat previous convictions as an aggravating factor
when sentencing. For shop theft offences, the Sentencing Council’s guideline on theft
offences came into force in 2016. This guideline allows for the imposition of community
sentences for shop theft in a wide range of circumstances. In cases involving significant
persistent offending, the community and custodial thresholds may be crossed even though
the offence otherwise warrants a lesser sentence.</p>
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