First ever Shoplifting offence! Help!!

[stupidwoman]

in Tesco the other day

 

for some stupid reason I decided to take goods from tesco and place them in a hessian bag I was carrying with me,

 

I admit it was alot of stuff... mostly products - £160 worth,

 

I am utterly mortified and have never done anything like this before,

 

I paid for the things I had in my basket then as I was going down the esculater (hadn't actually left the main doors)

a security guard approached me and escorted me to an interview room.

 

He made me take everything I took out the bag and lay it on the table.

 

The police were called and questioned me to which I admitted my mistake and told them my financial situation after recently losing my job

 

She also asked how much money I had on me.... why was this?

 

She then read me my rights and charged me with shoplifting, I was then escorted off the premesis.

 

I am so sick with worry about what is going to happen

 

I am at University and as my term address is not my permanent address the police said if the fiscal decides a court appearence is necissary the letter will go to my home address..

. WHERE MY PARENTS LIVE!... they will literally kill me and my mum is the type to open my letters....

 

Please help, is there anything I can do.

 

Should i write a formal letter of appology to tesco or write to the fiscals ofice??

 

Thanks

[old bill]

You make mention of the Procurator Fiscal, which indicates you are in Scotland. All the police can do is take you into custody, interview you and then prepare a case file for the Procurator Fiscal. It is the Procurator Fiscal who then decides whether there is a case to answer or whether it is in the public interest to pursue a prosecution at public expense.

 

As a retired policeman, I would advise you against writing any letters to Tesco or the Procurator Fiscal. I would, however, advise you to seek competent professional legal advice from a legal professional. Speaking of legal professionals, did the police offer you the services of the Duty Solicitor when you were at the police station? Also, did Tesco recover their goods in an undamaged and saleable condition?

[stupidwoman]

Thank you so much for the swift reply!

 

I wasn't taken to the station the police questioned me in the Tesco store. The items were recovered the minute I put them on the table and I assume taken back onto the shop floor... nothing was damaged at all. I was not given any chance of a solicitor when questioned but I did get the ''are you aware of your rights'' police standard speach thing....

 

The store called the police the minute I was sat down though, before they had even spoke to me. They did not give me the option to pay for the goods...

 

Thanks

[old bill]

It sounds to me that the police aren't taking any action. Were you given what is colloquially-termed a Street Caution, or a Fixed Penalty Notice? A retailer does not have to accept payment for goods that have been allegedly stolen. There is perverse provision within the Theft Act 1968 which allow them to do this. They get quite upset when they foul-up and try to refund what you have paid and you refuse the refund.

 

having read your post again, it doesn't sound as if the police force concerned followed correct procedures under PACE. Which police force was this, please? The reason I ask is that under PACE any interview must be tape-recorded. The CPS wouldn't accept a report of an alleged crime without a tape-recorded interview and I am of the opinion neither would the Procurator Fiscal.

[stupidwoman]

The county is Selkirshire so I imagine its Lothian and Borders Police. I feel like it is unlikely for anything to happen given that I have a clean record... But I don't want to get in that frame of mind. A law student friend of mine said that often the police will read you your rights etc but their intention is to scare you into never doing it again. I hope this is the case.

 

Erm, its all still a bit hazzy to me. It was only yesterday it happened but I remember the policewoman saying ''I am charging you with a shoplifting offence which will be passed on to the Fiscal''this was before she read my rights... maybe this was an intimidation technique.

 

Thoughts?

[stupidwoman]

Im not sure if it was classed as a proper interview but she did ask me a few questions regarding the incident and took down all my details... there was a tesco worker in the room with me while this happened

[old bill]

You need to speak to a legal professional and it needs to be a legal professional who is familiar with the Scottish Legal System. Take it from there.

[stupidwoman]

Ok, Thanks very much for all your help.

[BazzaS]

 

I paid for the things I had in my basket then as I was going down the esculater (hadn't actually left the main doors)

a security guard approached me and escorted me to an interview room.

.........

 

The police were called and questioned me to which I admitted my mistake

 

She also asked how much money I had on me.... why was this?

 

She then read me my rights and charged me with shoplifting, I was then escorted off the .....

 

Thanks

 

Were there any tills after the escalator, or in going down the escalator was it clear you were exiting the store?

 

After you were "read your rights" did you make any admission of guilt or only before?

 

I agree that you should seek professional legal advice if you are advised that the Procurator Fiscal is proceeding.

 

I'm intrigued that they asked you how much money you had on you .... Or did they ask / check about credit/debit cards too?

 

If they were suggesting that not having enough cash on you to pay for the goods was evidence that you were intending to not pay for them, then "I was going to pay for them, downstairs, with a debit card" might scupper that suggestion!

[stupidwoman]

I never actually said yes I stole them, I just agreed with what they said. There were no tills after the esculater there is however the esculator back up to the store level. So in effect I may have came back up the other esculater if they had not stopped me before hand?

 

She just asked if I had any cash on me and I showed her? The policewoman said she does not know if the Fiscal will proceed or not, it is their decision.

 

Is the only thing I can do to seek legal advice? Iv never had any convictions before so im really confused with what to do? I didnt cause any damage and everythin was recovered and I did appologise. Is it likely having no previous that I will just get a warning etc?

 

Advice?

[renegadeimp]

Heres the bluntness of it. You broke the law, you got caught, and now you are remoresful. What you need to do now is follow the advice given. Speak to a solicitor and find out what to do next.

 

Anything we say here would be simple opinion, where if you spoke to a solicitor that deals with things like this, you would have accurate info relating to your situation. I know its not what you want to hear, but Old Bill is right and you need to follow his advice.

[stupidwoman]

I am in no way shape or form in denial that I broke the law - I know that! How do I go about speaking to a solicitor, do I just call?

[renegadeimp]

Call around and speak to one that does the first hour free, and get their opinion. To you, this situation may sound serious and frightening. But in reality, this type of case, if it ever goes anywhere near a court is usually one of the lowest things a court would take notice of. I don't know what its like in scotland, but in england, peopel are pretty much given a quick slap on the wrist and told not to do it again. Only habitual offenders seem to be punished.

[stupidwoman]

Ok, I'll do that. Thanks for your advice! I did think that but kinda didn't want to ignore the worst if you know what I mean. Do you have any idea how long it takes to process from the fiscal i.e how long it would be if they decide to send a letter?

[honeybee13]

I am in no way shape or form in denial that I broke the law - I know that! How do I go about speaking to a solicitor, do I just call?

 

Hello there.

 

The Law Society [i'm not sure if you need a Scottish one] website has a search facility to find a lawyer with the right skills in your area. Perhaps will confirm if it's a criminal lawyer who would be able to help.

 

Then you ring up and ask to speak to them, tell them what your problem and ask them if they can help. This costs nothing. Also you need to know what it would cost you if they can help and what they could do.

 

There's also the CAB who might be able to help.

 

I wouldn't rush to pay a civil recovery firm though, worry about the proper legal system.

 

My best, HB

[stupidwoman]

Thanks HoneyBee,

 

Thats really helpful, Do you have any idea what sorts of things a lawyer would be able to do?

 

Sorry for all the questions... I know nothing about this.

 

Im going to try get an appointment at the CAB early this coming week, hopefully they can help.

 

I'm very grateful for everyone who has commented, its nice to have support even when your the bad one ...

[Sneeky]

 

She just asked if I had any cash on me and I showed her? The policewoman said she does not know if the Fiscal will proceed or not, it is their decision.

 

 

 

The reason they now ask you if you had money on you, is to prove your intent.. if you had enough money on you to purchase the goods you had stolen, then that shows you had intent on stealing... other wise you would have produced the itemd at the checkout/till/cash point.. If you have no money on you it can show desperation and we all know, desperate times calls for desperate measures. and people dont think straight when its not an option... when u have the money, you have an option that those that are poor dont have...

[old bill]

The reason they now ask you if you had money on you, is to prove your intent.. if you had enough money on you to purchase the goods you had stolen, then that shows you had intent on stealing... other wise you would have produced the itemd at the checkout/till/cash point.. If you have no money on you it can show desperation and we all know, desperate times calls for desperate measures. and people dont think straight when its not an option... when u have the money, you have an option that those that are poor dont have...

 

It's not as simple as you appear to think it is, Sneeky. Proving Theft requires a number of hoops to be jumped through before you can truly say someone has stolen something. The Ghosh Test is something that is used to determine dishonesty, a vital element in proving Theft and Fraud. It takes its name from the Court of Appeal ruling in the case of R -v- Ghosh [1982]. The statutory definition of Theft is -

 

"A person is guilty of Theft if they dishonestly appropriate property belonging to another with intent to permanently deprive the other of it."

 

There are also provisions within the Theft Act 1968 which set out when Theft is not committed.

 

It is very easy to say someone has stolen something, but it is something that should not be said lightly and, certainly, not without a very good knowledge of how Criminal Law and Criminal Justice work.

[Sneeky]

This is soo true, I find myself in dilemas several times on a daily basis, and I have to admit, none of them are easy, coz you have those taking price tags of garments, you have to prove their intentions, if they go into a fitting room, you have to prove that they still have it on them, and didnt dump it, you also have to prove that they didnt own this item before entering the shop, let alone not having a recipt, there are many more factors that must be considered, before it is a risk.... but in fairness, I am trained to notice elements and I am aware that these can and will change, as the law changes so do peoples behaviours and tatics.. never a day goes by where im not learning something new...

 

common factor of theft is proving fraud by miss-representaion... (excuse my spellings) we have soo much more to do than meets the eye, but have a lable of thugs (rent-a-thugs) supercops, lazy man on an easy job. you dont see the world that we see, we have to see you, what u have, who ur with, what are they doing, what u wearing, what time it was at, when it happened, why it happened, can we prove you done it, how we can prove it, also taking into account, everyother person that enters the store we have to strip every analigy that we were taught, whilst keeping a perfessional look after working a 12 hr shift, people find it hard to muster a smile....

 

all the while we have every customer coming in, looking at us like we are the **** and making it hard for us to conduct our daily job, that we are paid to do, tho yes i understand there will always be those that ruin it for the rest of us...

 

what im trying to say, those that get treated badly, should complain to the SIA... instore security to the CEO of the company.... dont even worry about the manager, go straight to the top, coz if u goto a manager they will most likley inform security.. and this will prevent them doing it to anyone else elsewhere.... if the right ppl dont know the problems are there, how or why would they change it....

 

recently i have had to report a colleague for miss use of CCTV, and am doing an internal investagationon behalf of the company.. Seems only I had the balls to stand up and tell him to stop, if I didnt then the company would be none the wiser. If you dont make a stand now, it will only get worse, and this is a very sad and dangerous fact

[old bill]

This is soo true, I find myself in dilemas several times on a daily basis, and I have to admit, none of them are easy, coz you have those taking price tags of garments, you have to prove their intentions, if they go into a fitting room, you have to prove that they still have it on them, and didnt dump it, you also have to prove that they didnt own this item before entering the shop, let alone not having a recipt, there are many more factors that must be considered, before it is a risk.... but in fairness, I am trained to notice elements and I am aware that these can and will change, as the law changes so do peoples behaviours and tatics.. never a day goes by where im not learning something new...

A major part of the problem is retailers obtaining legal advice from legal professionals specialising in Commercial Law who know little if anything about the complexities of Criminal Law. The result is that retailers have a completely distorted and misguided approach to retail theft. There is also an element of corporate paranoia involved, too.

 

common factor of theft is proving fraud by miss-representaion... (excuse my spellings) we have soo much more to do than meets the eye, but have a lable of thugs (rent-a-thugs) supercops, lazy man on an easy job. you dont see the world that we see, we have to see you, what u have, who ur with, what are they doing, what u wearing, what time it was at, when it happened, why it happened, can we prove you done it, how we can prove it, also taking into account, everyother person that enters the store we have to strip every analigy that we were taught, whilst keeping a perfessional look after working a 12 hr shift, people find it hard to muster a smile....

Theft and Fraud by False Misrepresentation are two entirely separate offences. Theft would be walking out of a store without paying for goods and intending not to pay for the goods. Fraud by False Misrepresentation would be changing price tickets on an item to gain a price advantage.

 

all the while we have every customer coming in, looking at us like we are the **** and making it hard for us to conduct our daily job, that we are paid to do, tho yes i understand there will always be those that ruin it for the rest of us...

Thank the morons who think they are Judge Dredd for that. I share your view that the sooner such cretins are kicked out of the security industry, the better.

what im trying to say, those that get treated badly, should complain to the SIA... instore security to the CEO of the company.... dont even worry about the manager, go straight to the top, coz if u goto a manager they will most likley inform security.. and this will prevent them doing it to anyone else elsewhere.... if the right ppl dont know the problems are there, how or why would they change it....

The trouble is retailers think that fobbing people off with a £50 giftcard is acceptable. They should treat incidents where retail security have fouled-up seriously as it is a very serious matter indeed to wrongly accuse a person of dishonesty and wrongfully detain them against their will. It is not just a civil tort. It is also a criminal offence.

 

recently i have had to report a colleague for miss use of CCTV, and am doing an internal investagationon behalf of the company.. Seems only I had the balls to stand up and tell him to stop, if I didnt then the company would be none the wiser. If you dont make a stand now, it will only get worse, and this is a very sad and dangerous fact

Don't tell me. They were zooming in on the cleavages and backsides of female customers, which is the usual one. They deserve to lose their SIA Licence if they are doing that.

 

@@@@

[davewright13]

It's easy for me to sit here and say don't do it in the first place but totally understand that people are less fortunate. My advice would be to try and get legal aid. http://www.justice.gov.uk/legal-aid