Abusive woman who stole from shops banned from Gloucester city centre

Aimee Carter was served with a civil Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction (ASBI) Credit: Gloucestershire Police

A woman has been banned from a significant part of Gloucester city centre after shoplifting, begging and hurling abuse at people.

Aimee Carter's behaviour sparked multiple calls to Gloucestershire Police from members of the public, businesses and city protection officers.

The 32-year-old has now been serviced with a civil anti-social behaviour injunction (ASBI), following a hearing at Cheltenham and Gloucester County Court on September 21.

The case against Carter was brought by Solace - a joint team made up of of officers from Gloucestershire Constabulary, Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucester City Council.

Carter is now forbidden from causing alarm or distress, verbally abusing others, consuming alcohol in the city centre or obstructing roads by sitting or squatting.

She cannot enter a mapped exclusion zone (outlined in red below) and is also banned from entering or being in the areas outlined in blue, other than attending pre-arranged appointments in writing with Nelson Trust, the probation service or Change Grow Live.

An exclusion zone prevents Carter from entering the city centre. She also cannot enter blue outlined areas. Credit: Gloucestershire Police

Solace officer Matt Roberts said: “The behaviour that Aimee has demonstrated is not acceptable. She has caused issues in the city centre, often as a result of her heavy alcohol consumption.

“Examples of this include being verbally abusive to the city protection officers, stealing from local retailers, and violently assaulting another member of the public.

“Our hope is that this order makes her think twice before engaging in this manner.”

Gloucester Neighbourhood Police Team Inspector Motala said: “We have been told that Aimee’s behaviour and offending is having a significant impact on the community. It is not acceptable for Aimee to impact businesses in the city centre, or the people visiting it.

“I hope this injunction sends a clear message that we will not tolerate this behaviour and will use whatever options are available to us and our partners to take action.

“I encourage anyone that witnesses Aimee breaching any of these conditions to report it, so further action can be taken.”

Gloucester city safe manager Steve Lindsay said: “Aimee Carter has been a nightmare for businesses and visitors to the city centre, committing several shoplifting thefts over the last two years.

“She has received warnings and banning letters, but has continued to behave in a way which has a knock-on effect on business losses.

“She has also caused harassment, alarm, and distress by aggressively begging for money in the city.

“This injunction not only protects the public and businesses within the city but also shows that these types of behaviour will not be tolerated and that Solace will deal with persistent offenders.”