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

There are some right sanctimonious twats on this thread

You'll be fine OP but expect a fine or two.

Green, I hope you're in a happier place now. It must have been so frustrating for those police officers, knowing why you were acting like that but being unable to do anything positive for you.

I still occasionally nick the very odd item from supermarkets, I figure they can well afford it.

I just don't get it. Do you get a thrill, or some kind of satisfaction? I am not judging you btw, I think it is probably very common. For me the risk of getting caught and the embarrassment of that is enough for me not to risk it.

I once went back to TK Maxx because they hadn't scanned an item worth £6.99. I would have loved to have just gone on and left it, but I would have felt sooo guilty for ages.

If a report has gone to the PF, the crime must have been committed in Scotland so it will be heard in the Scottish courts (sheriff in this instance) and it will be Scottish criminal legislation that applies.

yeah in Scotland

Interestingly enough I had counselling for PND and one of the things I brought up was my kleptomaniac tendencies as a youngster (I got very down on myself when depressed and was quite convinced I was the most vile specimen of mankind to live on God's green earth.)

I think it was my way of hitting back at the world in a contained way. I was an angry stroppy teen but I couldn't be openly - had to be miss sweetness and light - and it was my way of lashing back.

Of course, common sense thumped me quite hard when I nearly got caught - I felt sick with raw terror. So I really do sympathise with the OP, and with green and am so relieved it didn't impact negatively on her life.

Stress can cause really strange reactions in us - (My mum had just died when I started stealing stuff - I think that was part of it too, trying to steal makeup and trying to be feminine as there was no one to show me how to be a woman) It's all very strange. There was a reason OP stole, which isn't an excuse either but hopefully she can move on with minimal damage.

What is lacking in your life that you think it is okay to allow yourself to break the law several times?! What support do You need to make sure this never happens again because I am sure it is available.

What has your husband said and is he feeling better?

My husband was majorly shocked and obviously disappointed.

I find it hard to believe that one set of ink cartridges costs over £100.

Anyway I suppose that isn't the point. You need legal advice. Can you get some? CAB, or solicitors free first hour?

I don't know but I'd guess you'd get off with a non-custodial sentence for theft if it's the first time you've been caught and you get a judge who thinks your children deserve continuity of care from their mother. Have no idea about driving without a license.

I find it hard to reply to you without some reference to how repugnant I find your actions. I'm sure there's a sob story but I'm glad you didn't write it or expect us to sympathise.

I can't help wondering though how you got to the point where you decided you were entitled to ignore all rules and laws, and why you decided you are more important than other people? I guess it made sense for you at the time. I guess you managed to prioritise your own needs over the risk of jeopardy to others (driving), or that it's only big business that loses out so who cares (stealing).

That kind of attitude isn't just a one-off, it's a way of life. Unfortuneately.

I hate the word 'entitled', but that's what thieves and cheats and law breakers are, they think they're entitled to put their wants above anyone else's rights. Worming around rules set to make society run smoothly, relying on everyone else's good nature to absorb their own bad attitude and behaviour. Not nice, at all.

I wonder if you're happy to be seen as part of that group of people? Or whether you square it in your head as being somehow different, an exception.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll come out of it fine, whatever my person feeling on the matter.

OP do you realise that had you gotten away with this, that £100 worth of shopping you knowingly set out to steal would have gone straight into the stores 'shrink' (a monetary hole that is unaccounted for usually due to theft), which counts against their waste budget. The budget for staff overtime is directly affected by shrink and waste. You just very nearly cost some poor soul on a 0/minimum hour contract who is earning an utter pittance £100 worth of overtime shifts

I deal with shoplifters just about every night I am at work. I've been verbally and physically assaulted and me and a coworker have even had a knife pulled on us once. I have absolutely zero tolerance for theft. You have no idea of the knock on effect your actions could have had. Stores have targets to meet. If they fail them, everyone who works there is affected - from the store manager right the way down to the customer assistants. Everyone feels the heat of failed targets in some way, and a huge shrink and waste budget is a sure fire way to piss off head office. My store recently failed these targets due to a huge spate of shoplifting causing the shrink to spiral out of control. What happened? Overtime ban. Some of our staff are only on a 4 hour contract every week and rely on the overtime to feed their families. Could you survive on 4 hours pay a week, because I couldn't.

As for the driving, I'm not even sure I have the words. You could have killed someone. Just be thankful you didn't.

I don't know what will happen to you, but I seriously hope you have learned your lesson. You have children - please set a better example in the future.

Do not blame the OP for shitty work conditions. That is the fault and the responsibility of a succession of governments, a target driven culture and low pay. It is not her personal fault or responsibility.

That is not to say her actions were in any way correct; they clearly weren't. But to hold her responsible for someone on a 4 hour contract being unable to feed their family is awful. Try blaming the twats who handed out s 4 hour contract in the first place.

whataboutbob - I do hope you get caught some time.

Make sure you plead guilty and express remorse at every opportunity OP. I do think the court may find that hard to believe in given the amount of the theft and the fact that you chose to get in the car and drive to the shop without licence or insurance but it's about all you can do.

OP, Was it a set of two cartridges in the same packaging or two separate packs?

Ah ok, threads moved on since I started posting. I see what I said has been covered already and my intention isn't to keep kicking the OP.

I do think that there comes a point at which people must take responsibility for their own behaviour, and I don't believe that every single crime is due to poor mental health/ a cry for help/ living in terrible circumstances.

I also think that the attitude of habitual law breakers is one that drags other people down too, as societies reaction is to apportion blame across stereotypes, and I react stronger due to this.

Ginger, the OP IS partially responsible for the supermarket's losses and the knock-on effect for staff.

ASDA don't have single cartridges for £53. Not online, anyway
groceries.asda.com/asda-webstore/landing/home.shtml#search/ink/1/price-desc/so-false

It must be a shop exclusive.

it was two separate sets of ink cartridges (6 in a pack)

I take full responsibility for what i have done, not blaming poor mental health or live in terrible circumstances. I actually have a great family and a normal life.
On that particular day i just dont know what came over me. I drove as i needed shopping and no-one to take me and the shoplifting was a spur of the moment decision. Both i dont condone and regret fully.
I am going through the turmoil now not knowing what may happen to me, and that is soul destroying. And i know that my future endeavours will absolutely be affected by this.

The OP is responsible in part - a very small part - for losses.

She is NOT responsible for 4 hour contracts.

I think you will just receive a caution. I hate this site when it becomes all holier than thou, the OP has admitted her mistake and will face the consequences of her actions. We all cock up and do things we shouldn't, at the end of the day she is a Mother and despite the fact she has broken the law, can't we support her due to the fact she has two children.

'i knew i needed 2 inks and at £53 each i did the bad act and took them.'

I would be asking why you needed two of them, if I were the judge. If one was coloured and one black I would want to know why you couldn't manage with just black for a while. My suspicion would be that you were selling stolen goods and that this wasn't the first time.

The repeated claim that everyone makes mistakes would make me think you weren't really too embarrassed by stealing but rather upset at being caught. So therefore I would rephrase and use words expressing an abject apology.

But is is going to be hard to explain why you took two of them, unless your printer uses two cartridges at a time.

Blimey, you people are crazy! Really what on Earth makes you thinks op isn't a good mother? Poor kids? So law breakers = bad parent?

So people who smoke weed should have their kids taken away? And people who pay/get paid cash in hand?

Is it driving without a licence which makes you worried her children are neglected or the shoplifting ?

You people are horrid, she is obviously terrified... Bullies, at your age ? You lot are bad parents as you obviously model bullying to your children

can't we support her due to the fact she has two children

She wasn't struggling to feed them or anything like that do I don't see why the fact that she has two children us remotely relevant.

Site the OP doesn't know what came over her hopefully there will be some offence awareness / focused work involved in whatever sentence she gets.

Apologies for typos there.