Southampton man sentenced to eight months for multiple offences

A Southampton man has been sentenced for multiple offences including burglary, drug possession and shoplifting.

At Southampton Crown Court on Monday 27 March Ryan James Harvey, 27, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of two counts of burglary and one count of breaching a suspended sentence order.

Whilst he appeared at a further hearing yesterday (28 March) at Southampton Magistrates’ Court, after previously pleading guilty to possession of crack cocaine, shoplifting and breaching a criminal behaviour order.

The courts heard how that on February 18, at 9.22am, Harvey entered student accommodation in Cumberland Place after tailgating a student into the building; stealing three packages from the reception area.

Later that day, he returned at 3.15pm and stole three more packages from the same location.

The contents of these packages included a food delivery worth £50.97 and a multipack of toilet roll worth £22.50.

Officers identified Harvey from the CCTV images of the incident.

On Friday, February 24, at 3.31pm, Harvey stole several bottles of alcohol from John Lewis in Westquay shopping centre and was caught by security staff. By doing so, he breached a criminal behaviour order banning him from entering city centre shops imposed in August 2021.

When Harvey was arrested on 26 February, officers found a white rock of an unknown substance on him which he claimed was paracetamol, but was actually later deemed to be crack cocaine.

As a result of both court appearances, Ryan James Harvey was jailed for a total of eight months.

PC Russell Smith is from the Integrated Offender Management team (IOM), a specialist unit which manages prolific offenders. He said: "Harvey's persistent offending behaviour, has caused utter misery for both residents of Southampton and local businesses, so I'm pleased that the courts have seen fit to hand him an appropriate sentence that reflects this.

“It has been a real collaborative effort in getting to where we are with the sentencing, with two of the Constabulary’s investigative teams (Op Hawk and Op Falcon) working tirelessly, alongside my colleagues and I, in the Integrated Offender Management (IOM) team. For this reason, I'd like to take this opportunity to praise all the officers involved for all their hard work and dedication and hope that this outcome brings some comfort to those who have been affected by Harvey's crimes.

“The IOM team work in conjunction with several partner agencies and alongside other teams within the Constabulary, to manage offenders who are subject to court orders and fall under probation. We strive to provide offenders with opportunities to reform, but in situations such as this - where individuals have no intention of changing their behaviour - we will have no hesitation in taking decisive action.

“Ryan James Harvey now has some time behind bars to reflect on his ways and Southampton is a safer place because of this."