Shoplifter escaped after policeman fell asleep
A shoplifter who gave police the slip after an officer fell asleep on duty was jailed for six months today (Fri).
Lucy Perrin, 31, was able to stroll out of Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London when the City of London cop who was supposed to be guarding her nodded off.
She had suffered an epileptic fit after she was arrested on 14 September last year for stealing five bottles of shampoo from Boots on Bishopsgate, central London.
Perrin awoke in the middle of the night to find the snoozing police officer and simply got up and left.
Police were forced to launch a public appeal to trace the fugitive but did not include details of the embarrassing escape.
She was only caught months later, on November 27, last year when she was spotted stealing a bottle of perfume from another branch of Boots.
Perrin, who has a history of heroin abuse, pleaded guilty to theft and possession of class A drugs and was jailed for a month by magistrates in February.
She was today (Fri) sentenced to six months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to escaping lawful custody but will be free within weeks, having already served two-and-a-half months.
Judge Richard Marks QC told her: ‘I do unhappily have no choice but to pass a further custodial sentence for this offence of escaping lawful custody to which you pleaded guilty, an offence committed in September last year.
‘Having been taken to hospital following an arrest for shoplifting, the police officer who was supposed to be looking after you fell asleep and you took it upon yourself to leave.’
Three City of London police officers were spoken to by bosses and hospital supervision procedures have been overhauled in a bid to prevent a repeat of the blunder.
The force said a review had been undertaken by its Professional Standards Board into the circumstances of Perrin’s escape.
‘This review established that an officer posted to the Royal London Hospital on September 15, 2015 to observe a female detainee had fallen asleep whilst on duty,’ a spokesman said in a statement.
‘Once the officer established that the detainee had absconded, they immediately alerted a supervisor to initiate a local search and for the absconder’s details to be circulated to all officers.
‘Three officers have been provided with words of advice from their management. Hospital supervision procedures have been revised to ensure that the appropriate level of resourcing is provided based on the welfare of the detainee and potential risks.’
The court heard Perrin has struggled with addiction to hard drugs, and the judge told Perrin: ‘You are a person of intelligence and to see you in this state you are in saddens me greatly….Good luck in the future.’
Perrin, from Manor Park in east London, pleaded guilty to escaping from lawful custody.
ENDS
