3 Months imprisonment for shoplifting a £10 pair of jeans...

[sandyRoe]

A 27 year old single mother has just been sentenced to 3 months for a first offence of stealing a £10 pair of jeans. Did the judge get out of the wrong side of the bed, or what?

[murraymints]

Just yesterday the Scottish Parliament abolished all sentences of 3 months or less in favour of community service or supervision order...costs a lot of dosh to keep someone inside for comparatively trivial crimes...this a better way ahead ?

[bibblebub]

Where's the story? Is it her first offence? Or maybe she's one of the "youngans round here rob folks blind and go to court with dozens of offence" and uses the fact that she's a single mother as a means of usually only getting a slap on the wrist.

[maclarencat]

It was a first offence and does seem harsh but why didnt she plead guilty? The way I see it is she has got 3 months for the £10 plus the hundreds wasted on a court case that could have been over in minutes if she had pleaded guilty.

[Invictas]

What previous did she have,can you let us know?

[sandyRoe]

None. She'd never seen the inside of a courtroom before that day.

[Invictas]

Of course Northern Ireland(like Eire) is still in the dark ages when it comes to courts,sentences etc.

[daffy654]

Why on earth would you need a 5 day trial for a shoplifting offence?
There could only have been one or two witnesses involved plus the defendant, yet they managed to stretch it into a 5 day farce.
What a waste of taxpayers money!

[sandyRoe]

If you were a joyrider here you'd need about 6 convictions before you saw the inside of a prison.

[Andyvon]

If this is her first offence then perhaps this lesson will teach her that there had better no be a second offence! After all, isn't that what sentencing is supposed to achieve? The shoplifters who walk out of court once again with a slapped wrist keep doing the same thing over and over.

I read once that 10% of prices charged in shops covers the costs of shoplifting. Spend £50 in Tesco and £5 of that bill covers the shoplifters. Why should we pay that?

[mrs.chappie]

That's right, Andy ... it's not fair at all. That's why, when I spend fifty quid in Tesco, I nick five quid's worth of food, to get my money back.






Only joking, of course. :o)

[society]

A crime is a crime. I don't think the sentencing time is unfair.

[sandyRoe]

If every first time shoplifter got 3 months it would be fair. But they don't.

[daffy654]

Should people who download films/music albums worth the same amount also be imprisoned for 3 months then? I know of a few folks who use AB who do this and are quite shameless about it.
It is still theft afterall.

[jd_1984]

A car theif with previous would get less on some occassions!

[society]

This might be the first stealing offense where she's caught. Who's to say how long she has been doing this? Eventually the thing you do catches up with you, good and bad.

[Andyvon]

I'll bet it's not easy sneaking out of Tescos with two pounds of fresh fish and a sack of spuds inside your jacket Mrs C. !


Daffy - I'll bet your friends wouldn't download anything if they thought they would get the same sentence. If they recognise they are stealing revenue from the artists and music companies they are as unconcerned as shoplifters who know they'll walk out of court. Shoplifters often steal less than the downloads.

Saying that, it's not something I worry about and if I wanted to download music for free then I probably would if I thought I would get away with it. I opened an account with Photobucket last night. The first page wanted me to pay so I left it. I then found it was free so I was happy to go ahead.

[daffy654]

They definitely are NOT my friends Andyvon! I have been very 'vocal' on AB about my disdain for those who illegally download films, games and music. I have given up trying to explain to them why it is wrong :(

[Mike25]

The judge should be sacked, this is why the UK is in debt! This idiot just cost the tax payer 20k minimum!