You have rights when dealing with the police, and there are laws that say how police can use their powers. If you think you have been treated unfairly by police, and you are under 25, you can contact us for free and confidential advice here.
If you want to find out more about the laws around police arrests, check out our webpage here. If you want advice about reporting something that’s happened to the police, and you are under 25, you can contact us here.
The police can approach and talk to you at any time. If you come into contact with the police, it’s a good idea to make sure you stay calm and respectful. We know dealing with police can be intimidating or scary, especially if you have had a bad experience in the past. But being aggressive or violent with police will probably make things worse, even if you have done nothing wrong. Resisting arrest by using physical force or running away, or threatening a police officer, are serious crimes.
If you feel like the police are treating you unfairly, it’s usually best to go along with it, and then get legal help. It is a good idea to take notes of what’s happened on your phone as soon as you can, and if you feel unsafe, ask police if you can contact an adult you trust.
In some situations, you must give personal details (like your name, date of birth, address and identification) when asked to by police. For example, if:
In general, if you are unsure, it is a good idea to give the police your name and address and show them your ID when asked. It’s against the law to refuse to give your personal details and show your ID when legally required (without a good excuse), or to give police a fake name or address.
If you think the police don’t have a good reason to ask for your details, you can politely ask police why they need them. You can also ask for their name, rank, and place of duty. The police, by law, have to tell you this information. It’s a good idea to write this down so you don’t forget.
It is important to remember that you have a right to silence when talking to the police. This means that apart from giving your personal details in some situations, in general you do not have to answer their questions, even if you have been arrested and taken to a police station.
If police ask you to go to an interview, we recommend you speak to a lawyer before you decide how you will respond. You generally can’t be forced to go to a police interview unless you are under arrest or detained for questioning, and police should make this clear. If the police ask you to go to the station with them, it’s a good idea to ask if you’re under arrest. If you aren’t, you don’t have to go.
It’s really important to remember that anything you say to police in an interview could be used in evidence against you.
If you’re under 18, the police usually cannot interview you unless your parent, a carer, a family member, a lawyer or any other responsible adult you trust is present. If that person isn’t available within 2 hours, the police must find someone who is independent of the police, like a youth worker, to be present.
The police also can interview you immediately and without another person present if they believe you have broken the law and they think it’s necessary to talk to you to avoid the death or serious injury of someone else, or serious damage being done to property.
Sometimes the police can ask you to leave a place and not come back for up to 6 hours. This is called being told to ‘move on.’ You can be told to move on from a public place by the police if they have a reason to think:
It is an offence not to follow a direction to move on given by police.
Police do not have an automatic right to search you and your property.
In most cases, police need a warrant (which is a written order from a judge) before they can enter an area and search you, your car or your house. However, the police can search you without a warrant in some situations, for example where a police officer thinks that:
The police can also search you without a warrant if they have reason to believe that you are carrying a knife in a public place or school. If you’ve been arrested, the police can also search you.
It’s important to remember that you don’t have to consent to a search. If you don’t consent, police will need another legal reason to search you. There are also special laws that apply to people who are being searched while they are in police custody (under arrest). You can find out more here.
Not cooperating with police (for example by trying to stop them doing a search) can be an offence. For this reason, it’s a good idea to cooperate during a search, although it’s a good idea to still ask questions such as “can you tell me why you’re searching me?”, and politely but clearly tell police if you don’t agree to the search. The police officer must tell you why they want to search you.
In some cases, police are allowed to pat down your outer clothing, and in limited cases they can do a strip search, which is where they can require you to remove your clothes. In most cases, both kinds of searches should be conducted by a person of the same sex as the person being searched. If you are under 18, a strip search can only be conducted if police have arrested you or there is a court order and a parent or carer should be with you while it is going on. If you’re under 10, you can’t be strip searched.
The police can take and keep any alcohol that they think you’ve been drinking in public and also any cigarettes they find on you, if they think you’re under 18.
A police officer can also take anything that belongs to you if they think:
If the police take something of yours that you think is legal for you to have, you can ask the police for it back. If the police do not return it to you, you probably will need to go to court to ask for it back.
If you are under 25 and you have questions about your rights with police, you can contact us for free and confidential legal advice, here.
You can also check out this factsheet from the ACT Law Society.
If you have a problem or a question, you can send it to us today and we can provide you with free advice, information and referrals to help solve your problem. Just click on the button below.
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