Don’t Want A Criminal Record? Here’s How To Avoid The Law At All Costs

Posted on Jun 16 2017 - 9:00pm by Editorial Staff

Don’t want trouble? Then you shouldn’t be looking for it. If the idea of getting a criminal record is scary, then at least you’re thinking about it with the right mindset—you should be scared. A criminal record is a taint on your life. Not only does it make it hard for you to get a job in the future, it’s also something that will be an almost permanent scar on your social standing. You’ll be known as “that person” in the neighbourhood with a criminal record, they’ll tell their kids to stay away from you, and you may even be shunned by your own family.

To make things worse, recovering from a conviction is extremely difficult. Expungement laws are complex without the help of a reputable and experienced lawyer, and you may end up paying a considerable amount of money just to get your name cleared. Even after all of that effort, you may find yourself lacking the motivation to continue working hard throughout life because everyone will be putting you down which is never a good feeling. So to help you avoid a run-in with the law, here are a couple of tips to set you on a straight path.

Learn to drive

One of the most common places to get a criminal record is through driving. It could be accidentally speeding, drinking a bit of alcohol before driving home, or swerving into someone else and crashing their car—whatever the situation, these “accidents” can add up and give you a criminal record faster than you can phone your lawyer to help you out of it. If you’re convicted of neglect or something similar, then not only will you be required to pay fines and plead guilty, but you’ll also have a stain on your record and you may even lose the right to drive.

Know the law

The only way to avoid the law is to know the law. You don’t need to become a law student in order to understand it, however. There are plenty of websites and tidbits of information that tell you about things you’re doing that are actually illegal. For instance, did you know that nibbling on snacks before paying for them, whether it’s fruit at a supermarket or sweets in a candy store, is actually illegal and you could be fined? It seems silly to create such a fuss over a small item, but it’s something that you have to try and avoid. Even worse, if you go on holiday, laws may be different overseas and you might end up breaking laws you never knew about, and playing dumb will only get you so far. 

Understand your job

Lastly, make sure you understand the risks that come with your job. For instance, if you’re a freelancer who writes news articles or designs websites, then stay clear away from any images that aren’t specifically labelled as reusable. If you try to use images that aren’t yours or specifically marked for reuse, then you may end up paying a hefty fine for copyright infringement. In short, never take risks and understand your job.

Photo: Pexels

About the Author

Editorial Staff at I2Mag is a team of subject experts.