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

I am not sure that deliberately driving uninsured - with all the risks to others that involves - demonstrates good judgement, and therefore I would hesitate to trust that person's judgement about their driving ability, Grasshopper. It certainly demonstrates a cavalier disregard for the rules of driving that does not bode well for good/safe driving, IMO.

The PF will review the police report. You may be called into the station and cautioned or they will detain and charge you.

I think your best thing to do is seek some legal advice from someone who knows what the outcome will be.

There is a huge chance you can be banned from driving. I know in the first 2 years of driving you cannot get more than 6 points so a ban could be likely if that was what the judge says.

But definitely seek legal advice.

OK, maybe I was rash to sound like I advocate shoplifting. I don't want to encourage people out there to do it. My S-L activities have boiled down to the odd bag of oranges or pack of cotton wool once a year.
For whoever looked up my posting history, I've never holidayed in Namibia, just fantasised about it. I couldn t afford it. It was one week in a youth hostel for us this summer.
I still think wishing the OP public humiliation, thousands in fines etc is schadenfreude and mumsnet at its bullying worst. Luckily most have made productive comments.

Absolutely schaudenfreude - when criminals get caught. Especially those who have risked others' lives on the road. Bring it on.

A Solicitor will answer your questions. Personally I feel that driving without a licence should result in a prison sentence, you could have physically harmed someone.

OP

I do not know anything about being in trouble with the law, but I have been tutor to students who have got themselves into various situations.

One thing I know is that for things like this, it is best to hold your hands up to the crime, grovel with apologies, take the punishment, and then get on with your life and stay out of trouble from that point onwards.

Committing crimes through what we call unforced errors sets a particularly bad example to your children and you need to keep that in mind when tempted to lapse.

It also has a ripple effect on society as we know it and harms many people in ways we can never imagine. I for one don't want to live in a fractured society where people pick and choose what laws they obey and when they obey them for facile reasons. I am sure I am not alone on here thinking that.

the OP thinks herself above the law - it is not essential to drive. She was not legally allowed to drive but she did anyway.
the OP is a thief.

facts, not spite.

Well, if she holds her hands up to it 100%, and admits she was a complete idiot, and turns over a new leaf, I think that is the best outcome for everyone.

Oh special have a day off.

Some pagan dancing to welcome the Autumn or something.

wow, what a lovely person you are. And a spot of religious abuse too.

I'll report if I can be arsed, but I suspect you get what you deserve.

Never, ever drive without insurance. That was a profoundly stupid thing to do. I'm glad you got caught as if you didn't you know you'd have done it again.

I don't believe you've never done this before.

Stupid to steal, but at least that one only really impacts on you. But the Insurance thing was fucking stupid.

BTW to further piss off hattyhatty who doesn't like me posting here - autumn equinox is mid September; exact date depends on various factors in science which anyone who didn't flick their hair in school will know.

Oooooooh.

Indeed.
It's kicking off, as they say.

Who mentioned the equinox?

Maybe you should just try psych meds, and skip the dancing.

To those who are defending the Op, would you be defending her if she had mown down somebody in the car she illegally drove?
How would you have felt if she'd hurt a member of your family?

Would you defend her if she actually had a driving licence but was 'pissed' behind the wheel? She may as well been as she wasn't deemed fit to drive the car anyway!

Op I don't believe this was your first offence at all either. You got in a car and drove it illegally apparently for the 'first' time, then you parked and went into a shop and stole items, again for the 'first' time.
To me, this is complete and utter bollocks doesn't ring true.
The reason being, I'd imagine that if you were usually a law abiding citizen you would've felt extremely nervous and fearful getting behind the wheel when you knew you shouldn't, yet you continued to break the law and stole items from this shop
You were then prepared to get back illegally into the driving seat and go home, but luckily for others you were caught.

Your Op also smacks of self pity and concern for the consequences YOU may face and although you've written that you were wrong to do what you did, you don't seem to have grasped that you willingly drove a lethal weapon that could've hurt/killed someone.
I hope the punishment you face will be enough to stop you doing something so selfishly stupid again.

I know I know it’s a zombie thread!!

But threads like this… If I come across them i always wonder how the OP is going now and what happened