Criminal record and teaching

[Luckz66]

I am a teaching assistant hoping to complete a PGCE in the next year or so.

I misused my fathers blue disabled badge (parked in a disabled bay for quickness and placed the badge in the window as my children were fighting in the back of the car and had to calm them down) and have a court hearing this week.

Is it possible I could still become a teacher as I believe this is a fraud offence?

Thank you

I hope that things go as well as possible for you today @Luckz66

Thank you

Try not to worry. I don't know about what is and isn't criminal and civil but I do conduct lots of interviews requiring such DHS . You give information to the school and you just need to outline it after interview. I have a friend with a much much worse one from when he was younger - not anything that poses a risk to students but pretty serious nevertheless - and he has always got his jobs. I think it will be fine. Your explanation sounds understandable and most reasonable people would accept that, I'm sure, as long as you don't convey a sense of desperation and anxiety about your domestic situation to those interviewing you which could make them concerned about the your ability to do the job. Schools are desperate for teachers at present so even if it did make any interviewer worry for a moment, I doubt very much your plans are thwarted.

I’m really just concerned about my current job. I’m terrified of losing it. I don’t know how I’d manage

So the OP being absolutely sick with worry, potentially losing her job and livelihood as a single mother and getting a criminal record is 'completely proportionate' for using a disabled bay to stop her children beating each other in the back?

I remember I pulled into a disabled bay once (only space available) to move my toddler into the back because she was kicking my gear stick. Presumably the same penalty should apply to me?

Personally, I wish the OP well today and hope she doesn't lose her job and get a criminal record.

Thank you for all your support, I am terrified. I know I shouldn’t have displayed my dads badge but I thought I’d would give me a little time to calm my son down whilst walking to get a ticket. He is currently being referred by doctors as he is showing signs of autism and his behaviour is getting worse. Im so scared, never have I done anything wrong

I still don't understand why you had your dad's cancelled blue badge with you, and why it was at the forefront of your mind to use? If I had an old blue badge that clearly wasn't being used anymore, I wouldn't automatically think to pull into a disabled space remembering I could use it. The cynic in me thinks you use it more regularly than you're wanting to admit..?

I used to use it all the time as I was the one who took my dad everywhere. My mum cancelled the badge when my dad passed away but I didn’t realise it had to be sent back. It was down the side of my seat where I always kept it.
I have only ever used it whilst my dad was present and was a moment of madness just so I could get my son off the other one from fighting in the back of the car.

How did you get on @Luckz66 , hopefully it's over now.

How did it go OP? X

Waited over two hours and I had a call back from my union advising me to speak to the duty solicitor…. There wasn’t one.
So, they have adjourned the hearing for another three weeks.

Talk to your head before the next hearing.

Yes I’m going to book an appointment to see him next week.

No.

You can only use it when the disabled person is getting in to or out of the car. So if I drive my carer to the supermarket and he goes in to do my shopping I cannot use my badge. If we both go in then I can use it.

@Kendodd

The max fine for what you did is £50, but as you had a genuine reason to use it I doubt you would be fined.

OP talk to a solicitor. Talk to your headteacher.

I'm glad you realise how stupid you have been, it will show up on a DBS, most employers will have a 'self declare' and you will have to explain it.

@Kendodd but on that occasion did you have time to drive into a multi-storey car park? Were you using the cancelled blue badge of a deceased person? And did you walk away from your vehicle?

This whole thing makes me think the OP has been using the blue badge regularly (probably to save on parking costs) and has now been found out.

Actually some research done by a uni 90% of those who park in disabled bays have or are commiting other crimes.

OP

I can't read the letter, but as others have mentioned, a multi story car park that blows your story out of the water.

You could have easily parked in an ordinary space and then gone to buy the ticket.

You could have parked in the disabled space and taken your child out for a few mins, staying by the car.

If this is the first time then surely you have a number of tickets and you would have been able to get CCTV showing you normally do pay.

But the bottom line is that you broke a law.

This .

OP has been charged with fraud. She will almost certainly get fined but the maximum penalty is a lot more than £50. Even if she had simply received a PCN for parking illegally, the penalty is more than £50.

@prh47bridge That was to @Kendodd not the OP. A PCN in my area is £50 for parking in a disabled bay.

I'm slightly confused by the 'fraud' issue because, as I have said, I cannot read the letter the OP has posted.

Regardless the OP does need to talk to a solicitor.

*"I can't read the letter, but as others have mentioned, a multi story car park that blows your story out of the water.

You could have easily parked in an ordinary space and then gone to buy the ticket.

You could have parked in the disabled space and taken your child out for a few mins, staying by the car.

If this is the first time then surely you have a number of tickets and you would have been able to get CCTV showing you normally do pay.

But the bottom line is that you broke a law"*

@sashh I agree with you.

@Luckz66 your subsequent posts are completely different to your initial post which minimised your actions. As a disabled person I think is a moral aspect to this as well as legal, I genuinely don't want you to lose your job as it would seem a disproportionate consequence, but your actions also have consequences which affect other people. I missed a hospital appointment recently as I couldn't park - 2/3rds of the disabled spaces were taken up with cars without blue badges. I left loads of extra time (over an hour early) and had to circle and circle the car park but none of those cars left and I can't physically manage to get into hospital from the further car park. You aren't disabled, don't have a blue badge but not only did you deliberately park in that space, you deliberately and knowingly misused a badge which not only belonged to someone else, but had been cancelled. My appointment was so important to me, it is a really serious issue and now I have to wait for a new appointment, and any treatment will be delayed.

I can see you are stressed and upset, and like I said I don't want you to lose your job over it. But I have now missed a really really serious hospital appointment because of people acting like you and believe me, I am very fucking stressed and upset and worried about that.

I hope you come back and update and I hope that you keep your job but I wanted to post to make other people aware of the consequences of things like this. It's not a minor issue, and it is fraud. May I ask (sorry if I have missed it) what you have done with the blue badge now?

Also in terms of fines, I now have the choice of trying to get to my appointment again by car, using a shitload of fuel driving around, or getting a taxi which is over £40 each way, or DH will have to take another day off work (losing a days pay and possibly his job as he has had to do this before for me and they're losing patience). So we are financially affected by things like this.

The public transport isn't accessible to me (which is ridiculous as it's a fucking hospital but that's what everyday life is like for disabled people). I pay for my car via my PIP so when things like this happen, I'm paying money for something I can't use, I'm losing even more independence - let alone the health implications and delay in treatment.

Anyone who parks in a BB space (even without the fraudulent use of a badge) because their DC are crying, or you'll only be a minute, or you're pregnant or there are no other spaces etc etc, you're fucking over disabled people and it's so selfish. I really wish this was better enforced.

Apologies. My fault for not reading properly.

The fraud issue comes about because OP didn't just park in a disabled space, she displayed a blue badge that wasn't hers and had been cancelled. That is viewed as a more serious offence and falls under the Fraud Act as fraud by false representation, i.e. representing falsely that she was entitled to use this blue badge and hence was entitled to park in a disabled space.

No, the disabled person HAS to be getting in or out of the car, what you described is abusing the badge

Does anyone know how to see if your entitled to legal aid?

On the gov.uk website you can check if you’re entitled think