Thief Banned From Hospitals

5 June 2013, 12:13 | Updated: 5 June 2013, 12:27

A man who was jailed after stealing from staff at hospitals, including in Stevenage, has been issued with a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) stopping him from entering any healthcare facility after he leaves prison.

Adrian Michael Garrick, aged 41, was one of the organisers behind a criminal gang that stole from doctors and nurses while they were on duty, including at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage.
 
A SCPO was issued against Garrick, formerly of Miranda Close, Coventry, at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday 3rd June and places strict conditions on him for five years after he leaves prison.
 
The tough order stops him associating with his co-defendants or entering any hospital, doctor’s surgery or other healthcare facility unless it is an emergency. It also restricts the amount of cash, vehicles, bank accounts and mobile phones he can have at any one time.
 
If he fails to comply with the order, which was applied for by Hertfordshire Constabulary under the Serious Crime Act 2007, he could be returned to prison.
 
This was the first time Cambridge Crown Court had issued such an order and only the second time these powers have been used in Herts. So far, only around 20 SCPOs have been enacted nationally.
 
The order follows a 42-month prison sentence already handed to Garrick by the court on 30th April this year.
 
Financial investigator DC Emma Landucci, from the Local Crime Unit in Stevenage, said: “Garrick and his team committed these crimes against doctors, nurses and other staff while they were going about their everyday duties, caring for the sick and vulnerable.
 
“Despite this Garrick has shown no remorse for his actions but he is now paying a heavy price and has found that his freedom is curbed well beyond the duration of his prison sentence.
 
“This order sends a message to organised and serious criminals that we can act now to stop you committing crimes in the future – even after you have served your sentence.”
 
Hertfordshire Constabulary led on the investigation into the thefts committed over three years by Garrick and his team, who were known as “Coventry Falcons”, in hospitals up and down the country.
 
They would enter healthcare facilities while often dressed as members of staff before taking the wallets and purses of doctors and nurses who were on duty.
 
They would then call their victim via the hospital switchboard pretending to be from their bank. They would tell the victim that their cards have been stolen and in order to prevent usage they would need the card’s PIN.
 
The victims unwittingly gave this out and the cards were then used at locations nearby to withdraw cash and purchase high value electrical goods.
 
Garrick was charged with five counts of conspiracy to commit fraud but eventually a further 26 offences were taken into consideration by the court.