Former shoplifter gives back to businesses with support of police scheme
“My mum was living in constant fear of getting a phone call saying that I was dead. It got to a point where she told me that she had planned my funeral and what songs she was going to play.”
These are the words of a former heroin user and shoplifter who is in recovery from addiction and has overcome offending with the support of our Offender to Rehabilitation programme.
James’ first exposure to drugs came at around six-years-old when someone blew the smoke from a cannabis spliff in his face whilst he was asleep.
He tried his first ecstasy tablet at 11 and by 13 he was using crack cocaine. He later became addicted to heroin.
“As early as I can remember, crime was something that was normal,” James said. “I remember going out with my dad aged four or five when he used to say he was cleaning windows, but in reality, he was burgling houses.”
That behaviour would influence James’ actions as a child. He became involved with a group of older children who manipulated and intimidated him to climb through the windows of houses so they could commit burglaries.
“It was like living in constant fear. Every kid needs a safe, loving environment to grow up and thrive. I didn’t have that,” he said.
James’ drug use spiralled quickly. “People don’t employ heroin addicts,” he said. “I couldn’t maintain a job; all I could do was commit crime. The crimes I would commit would vary – it was all linked to drug use; it was all to fund a habit. It could vary from shoplifting to stealing cars, burgling houses, or selling drugs.”
With the help of our support programme, James is now approaching his second anniversary of staying clean.
Read his full story on our website: https://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk...
