A criminal has dislocated his hip 11 times so he could avoid time behind bars.

Shane Cox, 39, was arrested in August after he stole more than $500 of groceries from a Deer Park supermarket.

But he avoided police questioning when officers at Sunshine police station pulled him from the back of the divisional van, only to find he’d dislocated his hip.

Werribee Magistrates’ Court heard Mr Cox had dislocated his hip almost a dozen times in the past to avoid being locked up or questioned by police.

Orthopaedic surgeon from the University of Sydney, Dr Nick Hartnell, says Mr Cox’s hip is “probably not that hard to get out” after so many dislocations.

“Once you’ve done it once or twice unfortunately there’s a little trick to it,” he told Ross and Russel.

“The first couple of times it’s actually quite painful … I would assume after 11 times it’s probably not that hard to get out.”

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