An open letter to the SA Police Force and students:
This letter involves a serious and deceitful breach of civil liberties by
the SA Police, of which all students (and law-abiding members of the
public) should be aware.
Last year, I made the biggest mistake of my life -- leaving a store without
paying for an $8 item. It is something I had never done before and will
never do again. I am not a thief. The last of my pitiful Youth Allowance
had gone paying an undeserved parking fine and I needed to
eat. Incredibly, I was not cautioned but, in an intimidating police
interview similar to that in Tony Martin's movie "The Interview" (also
starring Sigourney Weaver), which scared me shitless like I have never been
scared in my life, I was charged with larceny and issued with a summons to
appear in court. The Police Force is clearly all heart.
My lawyer advised me that, guilty or not, the only alternative was to plead
guilty and hope for the best. Otherwise I would be brought to trial and it
would be my word against both the police officers and store security -- the
magistrate would almost definitely believe them, and if found guilty, I
would stand to suffer a much harsher conviction and penalty.
Everyone, PLEASE be careful in stores because even if you are totally
innocent, it makes no difference -- if you're caught, you're
stuffed. They'll still prosecute you and you really have no way of proving
your innocence.
To me, a fine was the least of my worries. Once it's paid, it's paid. But
a CONVICTION would be there on my criminal record for the rest of my
life. It doesn't make any difference to employers whether you've stolen a
tin of soup or a car -- it still appears as "larceny" -- a dishonesty
offence. Employers don't read the fine print -- they just see the nature
of the offence, and you'll never get the job. Any job. For the rest of
your life.
So my solicitor begged the magistrate to give me another chance by not
recording a conviction, as to do so would have a devastating effect on my
future -- I had a clean record, a bright future as a microbiologist after
finishing uni, and had been scared shitless by the experience and would
never be before the courts again.
Thankfully, the court obliged, and did not record a conviction, for which I
am truly grateful. I thought this was the end of the unhappy matter -- I
was given another chance, a conviction was not recorded, and (reasonably, I
think) assumed that the offence would not appear on my criminal record.
I was wrong. A year later, I am applying for a job involving the handling
of money, and the employer (understandably) wanted to see a copy of my
criminal record -- an "Offender History Check". That's OK, I thought, the
offence won't appear since NO CONVICTION WAS RECORDED. So I paid my $39 at
a police station and a week later was issued with the document. And there
it was: LARCENY. In big black type, for my prospective employer to
see. (And the fine print: "without conviction".)
But who reads the fine print? Needless to say, I didn't get the job.
That offence, for which the Court (for very good reasons) saw fit to give
me another chance, has devastated my life, as surely as if I was
convicted. Due to this deceitful police practice of LISTING ON OFFENDER
HISTORY CHECKS OFFENCES FOR WHICH NO CONVICTION WAS RECORDED.
I might as well have been convicted of ROBBING A BANK, for all the chance I
now have of getting a job. Surely, this is NOT what the Court intended to
happen when it gave me another chance.
I lodged a complaint with the Police Complaints Authority, who (it must be
said gave me a fair hearing and spoke to magistrates about the issue)
ultimately washed its hands of the matter. The Police are not prepared to
mend their ways. The issue is now resting with a Member of Parliament who
is very doubtful if there is anything they can do, as the Police are
digging in their heels on the matter.
Come on SAPOL, please give people who make just one stupid mistake, and the
courts give, for very good reasons, another chance, a chance. Why are you
fighting tooth and nail to preserve this unjust practice? Do I deserve to
be penalised by this, contrary to the wishes of the Court, for the rest of
my life? It's just not fair. Please do something about this.
Yours sincerely.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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