Life-Changing Consequences of Shoplifting

The consequences of shoplifting can be very harsh, and affect the rest of a person’s life. This past summer, I was caught shoplifting, but fortunately the mistake will not affect the rest of my life. I was 16 at the time of the offense so I was charged as a minor, and luckily was put into a diversion program. If I had done this a year later, I would have been charged as an adult and would have suffered the consequences of it for the rest of my life. Shoplifting has legal, social and personal consequences that have a negative impact on a person’s life.

When a person gets arrested for shoplifting, they get a criminal record. Criminal records are stored in a national database, which can be accessed by police, state and federal agencies, employers and landlords.

Now if a person shoplifts, they not only have the legal consequences, but have social consequences too. If a person shoplifts then people might think they are dishonest and then they won’t trust that person anymore. People look at shoplifting as a moral problem, so if a person shoplifts they may lose friends because they will think you don’t have the same values as they do. People also may find out about your criminal record from shoplifting and they may decide not to like you and think you’re a bad person.

If you have a criminal record it may be hard to do some things. If you apply for a job, it will be hard to get one because employers might think you haven’t learned from getting arrested for shoplifting and may think you will steal from the company if they hire you. This will then make it hard to find a job, unless at a place such as McDonald’s. If you’re applying for colleges they may not accept you, if you have a criminal record. Landlords also can see criminal records. If a person wants to live in a nice area but they have a criminal record from shoplifting just once, they can forget about it.

I’m very happy that I will not have a criminal record. I still have so much to accomplish in my life. I still want to attend college, become a physical therapist, find a nice house on a lake, and start a family. A criminal record might make that all a little harder to achieve. I regret shoplifting, but I have learned a lot from it, and I am very thankful that I was allowed to be in the diversion program with the Juvenile Conference Committee (JCC). I was able to learn from this mistake without having the huge impact of a big, ugly criminal record. I still have a good chance of getting into a good college and opening that door to start a good life for myself.

There is a saying that “you never really know what you have until it’s gone,” and I think it’s very true. One mistake and I could have lost all that I have going for me, but JCC prevented that from happening. Unfortunately, adults don’t have that chance; when you make that one mistake and break the law, you get slapped right then and there with a criminal record, and BAM, just like that your good reputation and all you have going for you is gone.