[Mad23]

Hi I did something so stupid. I stole 2 eye shadows from a make-up store. All together it is worth $38.00. I was caught and now I have to go to court in a month & do my finger prints before the court date. I am really scared that this goes on my record. I am 22 years old & this is my first offence.
Can someone help?

[Fr_Chuck]

Can I assume you are in Canada ?

Normally they will have a first offender program ( forget its name) where you will get probation and a division program. It is always a great idea of course to have an attorney anytime there is criminal court invovled

[Mad23]

Yes, I am from canada. Would that go on my record though?

[Fr_Chuck]

If they allow you to do the diversion program there is normaly no record when it is done

[JimGunther]

I was in retail security for 13 years, and while I wasn't in Canada, I have found that similar principles apply. Where I come from it is likely that a first offender in such cases can do community service or some sort of probation in order to keep a conviction off their record.

One problem is that there is a whopping difference between police records and court records. In other words, while you might not have a record of a conviction, you might very well have a record showing that you have been arrested, and this might cause you problems on future job applications.

I have seen job applications worded several different ways, including such questions as "have you ever been arrested", "have you ever been convicted" and "have you ever been convicted of a criminal offense that was not expunged."

If the application says "have you ever been arrested" there may be a problem and it is best in such a case to be honest with the future employer who, if they are asking the question, likely has the ability to check on it. Most of the apps I have seen though, ask about convictions, not arrests. I hope it works out for you and that you learned something from the whole thing.