Byline: Alan McEWEN Crime Reporter
A SERIAL bag-snatcher who used fishing hooks to reel in victims' handbags in restaurants has been banned from the city centre.
James McMillan was slapped with an antisocial behaviour order banning him from almost 40 streets order after targeting customers in the area's bars, shops and clubs over a three-year period.
The 32-year-old employed a variety of tactics to snatch possessions and has dozens of convictions for theft.
Elderly women and foreign visitors were among his list of victims dating back to at least June 2003.
Now the thief, who lives in Niddrie Mill Crescent, has become the first person in Edinburgh to have an "exclusion zone" banning them from a designated area.
Tiffany CufflinksAnd housebreakers, shoplifters and drug dealers could soon be hit with similar orders under plans unveiled by police chiefs.
McMillan, who has been described as a professional criminal with more than 60 convictions for dishonesty, also used stolen bank or credit cards to commit fraud.
Members of the Retail Crime Reduction Unit based at Gayfield Police Station, which targets thieves in the city centre, compiled a massive dossier of evidence to secure the Asbo.
The squad pursued the civil order against McMillan in a bid to combat his one-man crimewave by outlawing him from the area.
They sent letters to his victims, some living as far away as Australia, to determine if they had suffered "fear, alarm or distress" as a result of his crimes. Their testimony allowed the council to pursue a civil Asbo against him.
McMillan, who committed led light bulbs many of the thefts to fund a heroin addiction, now faces immediate arrest if he re-enters the exclusion zone. The order will become active in the next few days when he is officially served with the notice.
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Detective Constable Andy Higgins, lead officer on the inquiry, said McMillan had been arrested at least 19 times by police since 2003. He added: "The crime reduction unit has reported McMillan, and others, on numerous occasions and presented them to court.
"However, when released from custody, their addictions take over again and they return to crime. We needed to look laterally how to reduce crime and protect the public from these persistent offenders.
"We identified the key areas of McMillan's offending and have been successful at obtaining the interim Asbo. This is a powerful preventative piece of legislation that will assist front-line officers and members of the public by restricting his access to the areas where previously targeted."
Other criminals operating in the city centre are set to be hit with similar orders.
Councillor Sheila Gilmore, the councillor in charge of tackling antisocial behaviour, said: "This is yet more evidence of our unwavering commitment to keeping the city's residents and visitors safe."
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