I just lost my job b/c of theft. i am probation for shoplifting currently. What do i tell my PO about why I lost my job? I dont want to be violated.

You can bet your hat that your probation officer is going to contact your former employer about why you no longer work there.

Don’t add to your mistakes by trying to lie your way out of it.

It never pays to lie, especially if your employer knew you were on probation. If you do lie, and your PO finds out, they don’t like being lied to. You have a better chance of staying out of jail if you don’t lie than if you do.

Lying will only compound your problems. Whatever consequences result are nobody’s fault but your own.

I’d just try to find another job ASAP and hope the PO doesn’t notice. Probably a pretty long shot though.

Your PO will check and find out. The moment you shop lifted you violated your probation, it is too late to avoid this. Your best bet is to set up a plan to help you stop this behavior and then approach your PO with honesty and no excuses. While it might not keep you from the consequences of your actions it might gain you a much needed advocate.

Edit: I say this to you as a person with 20 some years experience with the criminal justice system mostly as a prisoner and ex-offender advocate. Parole officers expect their parolees to try to “get over” on them. Surprise him or her.

I don’t think there’s a solution to your problem. Your PO will find out why you no longer work there.

The PO will find out about it. The whole point of probation is to help keep you on the straight an narrow. If they think it’s not working, it’s not working, and you will get the violation.

You should steal someone else’s good idea about how to worm your way out of it.

I had a digital camera stolen from work. Long story short – they secretly videoed the guy and got some kind of warrant and raided his place, and we all got our stuff back. My camera was full of family pictures of the guy, holding up his little girl, grandparents, wife, kitchen party with all his friends. Priceless!

Run boy run.

Remember that when dealing with any bureaucracy, you are essentially playing a game. They are trying to get the ball in the net, and they are trying to keep you from scoring. You do and say whatever is necessary to score. Usually, the bureaucrats will try to tacitly inform you what it is they want to hear. Your goal, then, is to listen closely and try to figure out which magic words they want.

In this case, your PO probably wants to feel useful, so you need to come to him/her with your hat in your hands, eyes downcast, and sounding sorrowful. Explain that you’re trying hard, but that you need some kind of treatment for your compulsive petty thievery. Laugh bitterly about how the things you steal aren’t even valuable, that you don’t need them and you don’t know why you feel compelled to do it. Beg him to get you into some kind of treatment while your eyes glitter with unshead tears, and how you’d like to turn your life around, but you need his/her help to fix your problem.

Then, when you’ve got him primed, give him the sob story about how this problem has even lost you your job. Cry at this point if you can. You want to try to get him/her on your side by making the person feel powerful and in-control. Bureaucrats and authoritarians like PO officers lap that shit up.

Good luck!

@SmashTheState-That’s really good. I wish I could be someone who could pull off ‘acting’ like that.

Of course nobody wants to be violated when they do something like this but my advice would be admit you did something wrong and take the punishment like a man.

Even though you may not enjoy it much, it can do wonders for your self-esteem and guilt factor rather than lying your way out of it.

@SmashTheState – sadly,true. It’s a fucked up system fo sure

You have to crawl before you can walk.
Sorry you are still having a problem getting your act together.

But, it starts with honesty. Honest to the people around you and honest to yourself.

You need a lawyer.

Until you face who you really are, and admit to yourself that you are the only person responsible for your own actions, you will continue to have these awful problems. Do not try to play the system. Do not place blame anywhere else but upon your weak self. You will keep on losing, and feeling like a loser, until you do.

they already notified your po. get ready for the consequences