Prolific Thief Targeted Tourists

A prolific bespectacled pickpocket – who preys on tourists at London landmarks – has been jailed.

Paul Roy Kennedy, 63, who has amassed over 100 conviction, was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

Kennedy, of Boone Street, Lewisham, south London was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court.

He was convicted of five handbag thefts and a number of fraud offences, after he used the victim’s bankcards for numerous illegal transactions. 

Kennedy would regularly prey on tourists around popular attractions such as St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London.

He would snatch bags and pick their pockets for cash and wallets.

Following three thefts in the Square Mile on January, 10, January 28 and February 1, officers from the City of London Police recognised Kennedy on CCTV footage and quickly arrested him at his partner’s property.

Due to his repeat offending the City of London Police applied for a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) against Kennedy, which would ban him from entering the Square Mile and put conditions on his behaviour for up to 10 years.