There’s no upside to having a criminal charge on your record. Gleaning from law firms in Townsville, regardless of the magnitude, it’ll only bring you pain and misery. A conviction for a small offence, such as negligent driving or the possession of a banned substance, is going to stick with you for years.
You’ll have to declare this charge whenever applying for a job, and this can leave you at a significant disadvantage in a tight market. If you have such costs coming up, it’s best that you consider the full implications.
Sidestep the Criminal Record
Like a permanent stain, a criminal conviction will stay with you for years. If you were convicted in the supreme or district court as an adult, the record would haunt you for about ten years. That is ten years after paying your debt to society and probably reforming your life.
You would still get discriminated in the job market for having a criminal record. Most people have a deep-seated fear of people who’ve served time in prison and would rather not have them near. When it boils down between you and someone without a record, you can be sure they’ll go with the other party. That means you might have to settle for odd, low-paying jobs even when you happen to be highly skilled.
Lowered Quality of Life
Although you have the right to be treated with dignity, humanity, and respect while in detention, being incarcerated takes a psychological toll on you. While the prison authorities may do their best to keep you safe from harm, being locked in a hostile community changes you forever. Research shows that being in jail for a year is enough to alter your personality forever.
Prisoners often have a hard time reintegrating into society after incarceration and are often saddled with lots of psychological issues. The absence of throughcare causes the mental health of many ex-prisoners to deteriorate to the point of not being able to take care of themselves. Research shows that the inability to integrate back into society causes two out of five people to return to prison within two years of their release.
Curtailed Ability to Travel
It might come as a surprise, but a criminal record can keep you from visiting countries, such as the USA and Canada. As an Australian, you ordinarily don’t need a visa to enter the U.S., but you must apply for one and attend an interview when you have a criminal record. The same case applies to the United Kingdom. For Canada, you need to go through a rehabilitation program to be admissible into the country.
In the end, although the sentence for a criminal conviction might not be severe, the aftermath could have drastic ramifications on your life. It is in your best interest to retain the services of a reputable criminal attorney and fight off these charges. A criminal record stays with you for a long time and can ruin your chances of having a happy life.
