There are some things that many of us completely fail to properly research, primarily for the fact that we donât believe that we could ever find ourselves in that situation. But the truth is that you never quite know what is going to happen in your life, and you need to be prepared for everything that might happen. One example of this is being arrested. You might well think that, because you are not planning on doing anything illegal, you will never get arrested. But of course, you donât know whatâs going to happen, and the police have been known to arrest the wrong person. All it takes is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. With that in mind, letâs take a look at what you need to know about being arrested, so you can be as prepared for it as possible.
The Procedure
It is helpful to know what the procedure is for being arrested, as this way you can appreciate what it going to happen a lot more. It also means that you will be able to spot if the police officer does anything that is not quite right, or indeed doesnât do something that they should have done. This is all going to be important information, so itâs good to be as aware of this as you can possibly be. When you are getting arrested, the officer must have probable cause for concern, otherwise they canât just arrest you for no good reason. Similarly, they have to tell you what their suspicion is, and if they donât do that then it is an unlawful arrest. They can then take you to the police station, where your belongings will be taken from you and you will be searched and placed in a cell or questioning room.
Your Rights
Itâs hugely important to know what your rights are beforehand – that way, you will be in a much stronger position to be able to argue and fight for them. Of course we donât mean literally fight in the physical sense, just make sure that you are arguing your case. You have the right to have your rights read to you at the time of arrest, above all, and without this it is an illegal arrest. You also have the right to a free phone call once you get to the station – this might be to a bail bonds service like https://www.caseclosedbailbonds.com/ so that you can get bailed out of jail as soon as possible, or it might be to your nearest loved one or next of kin. Itâs up to you – just make sure to use it wisely, as you only get one.
Beyond that, you have the right to be treated with respect and to have your human dignity respected. You have the right to avoid coming to any harm, and to avoid abuse by the police officers, and you also have the right to water and basic comfort in the form of a chair when being questioned. If you feel that any of your rights are not being adhered to, then you should make a complaint after the fact. In some cases, people successfully take legal action against the police, and that is certainly something that you might want to consider if you are going to be able to get out of the other side of that situation with your dignity intact. See https://civilrights.findlaw.com/other-constitutional-rights/getting-arrested-checklist-have-my-rights-been-violated.html for more on rights.
Know these rights, and you will be in a much better position indeed – but thatâs not all that matters.
Legal Help
You have the right to a lawyer too, and this is a right that you should be sure to exercise. With a lawyer by your side, you can be certain that you are going to be in a much better position on the whole, and you will find that it is much less concerning and worrying with their presence there. Donât worry if you canât afford one – by law, you have to be assigned one in this case, even if that is just the duty solicitor at the station. That solicitor is independent of the police, and will be there merely to offer you legal advice as they see fit. Making use of that advice is absolutely vital to ensuring that you have the best chance of retaining your freedom – which is of course all that you are going to be worried about here.
If you can know all of this, you should find that you are in a much better position overall, and you will be able to deal with what is going on much better.