Man jailed after breaching criminal behaviour order in Taunton

A 44-year-old man has been jailed for 12 months for multiple breaches of a criminal behaviour order (CBO) put in place to prevent antisocial behaviour.

Thomas Crosbie, of no fixed address, was arrested and appeared at Taunton Magistrates’ Court yesterday (Wednesday 8 February 8), where he admitted 13 breaches of the CBO within a six-week period.

The original CBO was put in place in 2018 following public order incidents, thefts and aggressive begging.

The conditions included not to enter specified parts of Taunton town centre between 8.30am and 6pm, and not to enter named retail premises, but Crosbie admitted when in court this week he had breached the order multiple times.

Acting Inspector Michael Payne said: “Thomas Crosbie showed no respect for his CBO and finds himself in jail as a result.

“The regular antisocial behaviour he was responsible for had a detrimental impact on the quality of life of people in Taunton who rightly expect to go about their daily business without harassment, alarm or distress and we have listened to their concerns.

“The 12-month prison sentence sends a strong message that CBOs are there to protect communities and neither police nor the courts will tolerate them being disregarded.”