Help. Arrested for shoplifting and driving without a license

[selboy01]

Im in need of some help. I stupidly shoplifted form asda, goods where over £100 and the police where called. And in the process they found out i had drove there without a license. I have never shoplifted before and the driving was a one off as im due to sit my test in couple of weeks.
I got took to the police station and was held in a cell for a couple of hours then got fingerprints took etc, they never questioned me though. They then told me my details would be sent to the procurator fiscal and that was it?
Now i have no idea what will happen next, what punishment ill get and im terrified.
I have never been in trouble before. Can anyone shed any light on what i should expect, will i need to go to court, what will happen etc.
Im a mother of 2 small kids and can not bare to think ill go to prison for me being completely stupid this one time.
many thanks

If it's a first offence it will be a fine / community sentence, most likely.

Oh god!
I crashed while driving while underage without a licence and insurance, and was fined about £100 but banned for 3 years. didn't even have my provisional. So the ban started when I turned 17. You might get more or less with the shoplifting on top. Unlucky being your first time.. obviously you won't be doing it again !

Why did you take two cartridges? How many does your printer need at a time?

Because Cheeky has always kept stringently to the speed limit, never been distracted when driving, kept her hands on the ten at two position and has never broken the law.

Not drank before the age of 18.
Not had sex before the age of 16 (I didn't, I needed that makeup for a reason, ladies & gentlemen!)
Never taken £1 from mums purse to buy sweets

I'm serious, cheeky - I do know people who are, or at least appear to be, enviably moral. Regrettably, I am not one of them, and the OP also has made her mistakes.

The truth is though sitting and recriminating about what a terrible person you are is rarely productive. What is productive, whether you broke the law or just made a legal but stupid mistake, is saying 'well, ok, that happened, how can I best put this right and if I can't, how can I move on and ensure this doesn't happen in future?'

At the end of the day, I don't condone stealing but they were ink cartridges not luxury clothes or jewels - I don't know what the OP was thinking either but in fairness I think she is also 'why did I do THAT'.

So all you can do is move on. People do make mistakes, the law will punish for it but the law will also move on.

I was arrested for shoplifting once. It was an impulse thing and my first offence.

My prints were taken but I wasn't cautioned or charged and heard nothing more, just given a talking to by a police officer.

Admittedly two policewomen at the front desk recognised me as they'd recently been to my house for domestic assault incidents, so I do wonder if the police station just talked amongst themselves and decided not to take it further because of that, as I'd also explained that I was kind of in a fug, just wandering around the shop with literally armfuls of clothing, hoping to be caught really, just not caring what happened.
I think the police have to make a decision on whether a suspect is suitable for charging based on whether the Crown Prosection Service can make a successful case or not out of it?

The DV at the time was something I'd been hiding too from everyone, so hiding clothes to steal them now seems to me understandable.

If you can prove the theft was impulsive, you may get away with just a caution. But you had no excuse for driving an uninsured car, so you'll get pulled up on that heavily.

The PF makes the decision on your fate. They are solicitors. If there's enough evidence to convict you'll get a court date, if not you'll get a fine in the post.

In Scotland the system is slightly different in that the police arrest and then draft a report which they send to the Procurator Fiscal who will then make any decision as to whether to prosecute after considering the likelihood of a conviction and whether it is in the public interest to prosecute.

I would get legal advice. You may be entitled to legal aid so look up any solicitors in your area who do criminal legal aid work and take it from there

It's unlikely the shoplifting offence will impact on the driving ban if there is one.

Points on your license too. Forgot that. Also yes, local paper in the court pages.

You'd only look at jail time if you don't pay your fines and even then they'd look to give you extra time before taking you down that route if you're a first time offender.

What on earth were you thinking??

Serious crimes? Ye Gads. Christ - petty theft and a motoring offence.

You're likely to be thousands out of pocket with fines, your future insurance will be more expensive, you'll have a criminal record that will prohibit you from much future employment (paid and voluntary), multiple points on your license, and the shame (for you and your poor children) of having your name in the papers.

Green, I'm glad nothing further happened.

LOL, Ok petty crimes that the rest of us pay for every day in our car insurance and shopping bills. And yes, they are too serious to be believable as first offences. It just wouldn't occur to someone who is generally law abiding.

Yes, young children all read the local paper cover to cover.

Our local paper has taken to publishing the names of people fined for dropping cigarette butts. I hate smoking and I hate littering so it doesn't displease me but I doubt anyone is sticking the scarlet letter S for smoker on their clothing.

Or perhaps it should be L for litterer.

OP could have I for Ink?

My printer takes a colour cartridge and a black & white cartridge.

op you mentioned Procurator Fiscal. Am I right in assuming you are in Scotland ? I'm police but in England so don't want to give wrong advice as the legal systems are different

The children don't need to read it - their friends' parents will. The shame.

Imperial

Maybe that's how she got caught.
You'd be surprised, though. I once walked out with some boy shorts in their hanger hanging out of a shopping bag and the alarm didn't ring. It was only when I walked in to return them, after noticing the very obvious item, that the alarm went off. Doh!

OTOH, the other day I finally figured out what was triggering the alarm only at some shops It was a bit from a battery pack, which happened to have the security tag.

Thanksyou, Ginger.

I have complete faith in the law.
My background didn't condone the crime, but it explained it.

I agree all these hostile " kick the OP while she's down" comments are just mean and unproductive. I was quite a prolific shoplifter as a teenager and was just lucky to never get caught. I still occasionally nick the very odd item from supermarkets, I figure they can well afford it. And I haven't bothered to name change. Well done to all of you on here who have made productive comments.Unfortunately I can't offer any as I am not familiar with the law. I hope you get off lightly. We don't have the right to judge we don't know your circumstances.

I read the court pages every week to see if there's anyone in there that I know. Maybe that's just me though

My printer takes a colour cartridge and a black & white cartridge.

Yes, and the available cartridges in ASDA online shopping are at worst just over £50 for a multipack. Maybe it's different in Scotland, who knows, or the OP got greedy.

There is some useful information here, OP, about what could happen on the driving matter - www.roadtrafficexpert.com/no-insurance-licence-mot.html
In short, points and a fine. How many and how much will depend on whether your insurance is invalidated by being an unsupervised provisional license holder.

gosh cheeky, you were born in the wrong era! Bet you'd have loved public hangings and some rotten fruit to chuck at the OP

Although I am thinking it is a pity sticking needles in the hands of witches is no longer legal!

I would stake the rest of my career earnings on you not getting a custodial term though. In england you would be cautionable if remorseful for a first offence

Are you in Scotland, OP?