From time to time, everyone has to deal with various non-standard situations. One of these may be the detention of a citizen by the police. How to avoid detention or survive such a situation with minimal damage?
Neglecting knowledge is dangerous
How to behave when detained by the police? Almost everyone can assume that anyone is able to get into such a situation, but not him. Therefore, you can not worry about this. However, many often do not even know how to behave and what to do when meeting a person in uniform.
Such thinking can lead to very sad consequences. Even if the detained person is not guilty of anything, ignorance and erroneous behavior can take a huge amount of time and energy to solve problems that can be easily avoided.
Readiness
Innocence is the trump card.
Things like police detention should be taken very seriously. And the most important thing to do is to minimize the risk of conflict with a representative of law enforcement agencies. You should not violate even the most insignificant laws, since it would seem that even for such a trifle as a cigarette smoked in the wrong place, you will have to pay with money from your own wallet, and this is in the best case.
But not so simple. It happens that police detention can occur without any legitimate reason. This situation can happen for many reasons - from the outward resemblance of a detainee to a person who has broken the law, to the commonplace mistake of a law enforcement officer.
Rights are important
What to do in this situation? The best weapon is your knowledge. If you know your rights in police custody, you are protected. The world is not perfect, and not all actions of police officers take place according to the protocol. Therefore, you need to know your rights and obligations, as well as the powers of the police officer conducting the detention.
Professional support
The second, but not the most important trump card, which may turn out to be one of the strongest, is legal support. Of course, not everyone can afford to hire a private lawyer, but there are many law firms that can help in this situation, if not as lawyers, then at least with advice. Such power behind is very useful. And not only in such cases.
Detention
So, a person was detained by a police officer. Erroneous or deliberate - this does not change the essence of the matter. What actions should be taken when detained by the police? Here are a couple of tips:
- Be calm and polite. Any dialogue is doomed to failure if one of the participants leads it in raised tones and with a negative message. You need to communicate calmly and politely. Firstly, this minimizes the risk of conflict, and secondly, you will impress the representative of the rule of law as an adequate and balanced person, calm and, most likely, innocent, which will predispose to a quick and peaceful settlement of the conflict
- Start the conversation right. Most often, police detention begins with the phrases “Come with us ...” or “Present your documents ..”. This is not correct and does not constitute grounds for detention. The police officer must introduce himself, indicate his rank and show identification. If he did not, it is worth asking his name and rank, asking for a certificate. A request will show your legal expertise.It would be a good idea to record this information, as well as the time and place of detention.
- Why? What for? For what? After you are convinced that it was the police officer who detained you, and not the impostor or bandit, you need to find out the reason for the detention. Even verification of documents must be justified.
Grounds for detention
The grounds for the detention of a citizen may be:
- Stay in the territory in which the special regime is introduced, or at the place of special police control and CTO.
- The presence at the scene of an accident or a crime.
- External signs or actions giving reason to believe that a citizen is related to the commission of a crime.
- The presence of objects or substances prohibited by law, things for the storage or use of which permission is required
- The presence of similarities with the appearance of the wanted criminal or person missing.
- Sufficient suspicion of an offense or intent to commit it.
They can be detained for the following reasons:
- For identification (in the absence of documents),
- As a suspect or accused of a criminal offense.
- In connection with an administrative offense.
If you are sure that the detention is unfounded, firstly, do not lose your temper. Polite and calmly bring arguments in your favor. If the result of the conversation is not that the police officer will let you go home, you should call your relatives and report the detention. Then you should stop communicating with law enforcement agencies before consulting with a lawyer or lawyer. Police officers are required to inform your lawyer of what happened at your request.
Search
Police officers may search a detained person if he is allowed to do so. It’s better to show the contents of the pockets yourself if the police ask for it. Other rules apply if the police detained a minor.
The use of physical force
Can a police officer use physical force during detention? A police officer may use force to prevent delinquency and to overcome opposition. If the detainee did not give a reason for the use of physical force, but nevertheless the officer allowed himself to do this, there was an unlawful behavior of the police officer. This should be noted in the protocol.
If during the arrest a person received damage, law enforcement officers are obliged to inform the relatives of the victim about this as soon as possible (within a maximum of 24 hours).
In the department
In the event that it was not possible to avoid a trip to the police station, it is worth, as before, to remain calm. The first step is to insist on a protocol. It is worth remembering that there is a right to include in the protocol any comments that you consider necessary. In addition, the detainee has every right to independently draw up a protocol. In this case, it is necessary to indicate the exact time, as well as to mention any illegal actions on the part of the employee who conducted the detention, if any.
It is highly recommended that you require a copy of the compiled protocol. Yes, and in general any papers that you deemed necessary to subscribe to.
How to be What to expect next? After drawing up the protocol and other formalities, you should find out what prospects await you. You should ask this question both to the investigator who is conducting your case, and to the lawyer or counseling lawyer. According to the law, police can be detained for a period not exceeding 48 hours. During this time, charges must be brought.
It is worth remembering that no rights do not exempt from the need to behave with restraint. From the moment of arrest to the end of your stay at the police station, it is better to carefully consider everything that is being said.Because everything that anyone arrested will say can be used against him. So it’s better to be careful, focused and calm.
If the charge is administrative in nature, then, according to the law, a citizen detained under the article of the administrative code can be kept in the department for no more than three hours. Otherwise, the detainee has the right to demand release, of course, if there is no reason to assume that the detainee was involved in the commission of a criminal offense.
Juvenile detention
When it comes to the detention of a minor by the police, the form of communication with representatives of the law is the same as described above. However, it is worth remembering that here the difference between administrative and criminal violation is more significant.
Administrative responsibility begins at sixteen full years. Otherwise, all detention procedures (with the exception of transportation to the police station if necessary) are carried out exclusively in the presence of a lawyer or teacher, parent or guardian.
Teenagers may be detained for:
- homelessness;
- begging and vagrancy;
- the use of narcotic or psychotropic substances, alcoholic or alcohol-containing drinks;
- commission of socially dangerous acts that are not subject to criminal liability in connection with the age of criminal responsibility.
As for the search, inspection of the minor by a police officer is prohibited. But search is allowed - this means that the police officer can offer the detainee to show the contents of his pockets or bag himself. Police do not have the right to force their pockets to turn out.
Complaint about the actions of police officers
If you believe that the actions of the police during the detention violated your rights and were illegal, you can file a complaint. A complaint can be made both orally and in writing. Be sure to indicate all the circumstances of the detention, the exact time and date of the incident, the personal details of the police officers (name and position). If law enforcement officers or those who pretended to be them did not show identification, you should try to describe their appearance as accurately as possible. You can apply for protection of rights in a judicial proceeding, bypassing subordinate structures.
If your child is detained
When detaining a minor, police officers are required to report the incident at the place of study to parents or legal guardians. Only parents have the right to pick up a child from the department. But this can be done no earlier than the police will identify the teenager and his parents.
Three rescue whales
The basic instructions for detaining a person by the police are listed above. In fact, all of the above comes down to two aspects: calm, polite behavior and knowledge of rights and laws. Of course, you should not go ahead. In any situation, it is necessary to soberly assess what is happening.
The best way to protect yourself is to follow three basic rules. The main thing is calm, legal knowledge and prudence. But still the best way to protect is always and will be to avoid situations that could lead to such consequences.