Criminal Records
How a Criminal Record for Shoplifting Affects You
Criminal Records: What You Need to Know
If you have been charged with shoplifting, it is essential to understand the consequences that a criminal record can have on your future.
A criminal record is a record of a person’s criminal history, including any criminal convictions and charges.
In Canada, criminal records are maintained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Criminal records are accessible by various government agencies and organizations, such as the police, courts, and immigration authorities through the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC).
Criminal Records & Shoplifting
A criminal record can have a serious impact on various areas of your life, including employment, travel, immigration, volunteering, and family law. Here are some of the ways having a criminal record can affect your life:
- Travel: Border officials can deny you access to their country if you have a criminal record. For example, if you’ve been convicted of shoplifting or Theft Under and are trying to drive into the USA, customs officers can deny you access to drive across the border.
- Employment: Employers may refuse to hire someone with a criminal conviction. Government agencies may also deny employment or require a criminal record suspension (pardon) before considering someone for work. Some employers may require the employee to be bonded, which may affect employment.
- Family Law: A judge can take into consideration a criminal record as evidence of bad character, which may impact child custody or visitation rights.
- Education: Having a criminal record may disqualify a student from attending or graduating from certain educational institutions, such as those involving medicine, security, child care, or businesses involving money (e.g. banking or accounting).
- Canadian Citizenship and Residency: Any person applying for Canadian citizenship will be denied citizenship if they have a criminal record. Persons who do not have permanent residency in Canada may be deported if they commit criminal acts in Canada. Non-Canadian citizens can be deported due to criminal acts.
- Volunteering: Many volunteer agencies now require a criminal record check, and having a criminal record can result in disapproval of a volunteer application.
- Adoption: Persons considering the adoption process must pass a Vulnerable sector search, which may result in denial due to a criminal record.
Shoplifting & Theft Under
Effects of Criminal Records
Many people don't realise the implications
Criminal Records & Previous Convictions
If you already have a record and commit another criminal offense, you can expect to be sentenced more severely than someone with no criminal history. Impaired driving laws, for example, have increased penalties for repeat offenders.
Criminal Records & Entering the USA
Entering the United States with a criminal record is challenging due to the strict immigration laws. American immigration officials have the power to make a decision on these issues. It is not possible to enter the United States if you have been convicted of an offence related to moral turpitude, drugs, terrorism, prostitution, national security, etc. These regulations apply even if you have received a discharge in Canada. A Canadian discharge does not automatically grant you permission to enter the United States.
Denied Employment due to a Criminal Record
Once an employer sees a criminal record they refuse to hire you if you do not have the necessary qualifications, skills for the job or some other reason they find out. As you can imagine, where two applications appear, one with a criminal record and one without, who would you pick?
If your criminal record has been suspended, or if the offence is unrelated to the job, nobody can dismiss you, refuse to employ you, or disadvantage you because of your criminal record.
In such instances, it may be difficult to demonstrate that your criminal record was the sole reason for your dismissal or rejection. Moreover, a criminal record can prohibit your chances of employment in certain fields, such as law enforcement or jobs involving financial responsibility. If you were found guilty of a criminal offence, you cannot work for the many professions have restrictions.
Steps to Protect Your Future
Being charged with a criminal offence is a serious issue. Take the steps to protect your future to avoid the debilitating consequences of a criminal record for shoplifting.
As criminal lawyers we see unrepresented people leave court with criminal records, that could have been avoided. Persons who appear unrepresented put themselves and family at jeopardy.
The crown attorney is to prosecute criminal matters brought before them by the police. The crown attorney is not at court to help you, give you advice or assistance. Nor, is it the crown attorney’s job to worry about whether you receive a criminal record or not.
When when charged with shoplifting and any criminal offence, speak to one of our criminal defence lawyers. Find out the Ontario Shoplifting Lawyers provides quality legal defence that will help you at an affordable one time fee.
As shoplifting lawyers we have one goal, to drop your shoplifting charges without a criminal record. Give us a call today, let’s discuss your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I avoid the criminal record?
Where you’ve been charged with shoplifting, the best way to avoid a criminal record is to have a lawyer appear on your behalf.
Just like things you may do, when you do something over and over, you get good at it. You understand the nuances, understand the rules, and know the players. As shoplifting lawyers we’ve done it before and understand the best ways of having your charges dropped.
What you can do is collect letters of reference, good character and anything where you have worked or helped your community. Your background and what you do in your community can have a dramatic affect on whether the crown attorney sees the shoplifting as a criminal event, or an error in judgement or mistake.
Can't I just get a pardon in a year?
Criminal pardons are now called “record suspensions”. Yes they are available, but you have to apply, there is a cost, and doing so will probably take years to process. Expect any record suspension to be a 3 or more year process from the date of conviction.
It is much better to avoid the criminal record in the first place. Although many may have told you that the shoplifting was just a small thing, the effect of a criminal record is a big event in your life that needs to be treated very seriously. Give us a call and lets discuss your case.
What determines what penalty I receive for shoplifting?
Once your case appears before a crown attorney they will review the case and the police officers disclosure (officer’s notes) about what happened.
The crown attorney in reviewing your case will look at many factors including:
- What was taken and value
- Who took it and why,
- was it a simple mistake or was it planned
- What happened during & after arrest
- The background of the accused,
- do they have previous convictions or warnings
- age, financial background, what you do, do you do any volunteer work
- what is your position in the community
The background of the accused, what happened and what was taken. All of these factors will be reviewed by the crown prior to any discussion about the charges and any penalty for shoplifting.
The security was rough and abusive, can I complain?
Yes you can complain, and it may help your case, but you need to review these issues with our lawyers.
Although you can walk into the court and say the officer was rough with you, it won’t carry much weight with the judge. In that situation, the judge may state that the officers actions are not the issue. Any complaint about officers should be taken up with the police or security management, not the court system.
The better time to discuss this is, having our shoplifting lawyers set up a pre-trial meeting with the crown attorney to discuss these issues together with the discussion about the charges, and your good character. During this process, where the actions of the police and security may have been aggressive, it can help in negotiations to have your charges dismissed and dropped.
Discuss your case with a shoplifting lawyer | Call today
Being charged with a criminal offence is stressful, but you don’t have to face it alone. Call and speak with a shoplifting lawyer and learn how we can help you. We provide effective and affordable legal representation for all individuals facing these charges throughout Ontario.
Work with a lawyer experienced with theft under and shoplifting charges. Invest in your future by keeping your record clear. Yes you might be able to appear by yourself, but if something goes wrong, then what? Call today and let’s just talk about it.
