# How do they arrest blind people? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255 "2006-10-12T23:16:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![yelimS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/54ee81/32.png) [@yelimS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yelimS)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/21 "2006-10-13T08:37:20Z")
As expected, **Dio** says it best. > [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > You get your buddy to go back to the cruiser and blip the siren a couple of times. > Anyway, cops sound like cops. Police stations sound, well… police station-y. I had thought about this, but I still think at least police radios (and voices, at least!) are far easier to fake than a cop uniform, and a siren sound should be easier to fake than an actual car. On second thought, though, the siren seems to be the best way, as they’re rather loud and would in many scenarios attract the attention of bystanders. However, _many_ scenarios. What about those where you wouldn’t expect a patrol car? What if there are no bystanders, or the blind person doesn’t feel secure there are any who would interfere? Like **Little Nemo** said, there’s no magic amulets, and everything _could_ be faked, but it still sounds like it’s far easier to deceive blind people. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/22 "2006-10-13T09:36:09Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] Now _deaf_ people on the other hand… How the heck to you mirandize them? Flashcards? 😃 [/QUOTE] Well, yes, actually. Many police officers carry small business cards with the Miranda warning printed on them. These are provided by the police department, intended to be used to make sure the officer gives the warning, and does it word-for-word accurately. Of course, police officers soon have this warning memorized, so they don’t bother to get out the card to read it each time they arrest someone. But I’ve been told by officers that they ARE careful to get out the card and carefully read it for a major, high-profile arrest. They sometimes give the card to the arrestee, to read along as the officer recites the statement. (Then when the arrestee arrives at the jail for booking, and his possessions are inventoried, this Miranda card will be listed. Makes it harder for a sharp lawyer to later claim in court that the arrestee was not given the Miranda warning.) Also, iIn some jurisdictions, the back side of the card will have the warning printed in Spanish, or another appropriate language. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/23 "2006-10-13T12:16:22Z")
A related question: How do blind people function after being arrested–i.e. in prison? I doubt if prisons allow seeing-eye dogs, and a white cane would make a pretty dangerous weapon in the hands of your cellmates. ---
**Author:** ![Sonia\_Montdore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Sonia\_Montdore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonia_Montdore)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/24 "2006-10-13T13:44:45Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] But isn’t justice itself blind? Seems kinda hypocritical. [/QUOTE] whoosh ---
**Author:** ![dre2xl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@dre2xl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dre2xl)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/25 "2006-10-13T14:41:14Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] Now _deaf_ people on the other hand… How the heck to you mirandize them? Flashcards? 😃 [/QUOTE] My deaf roomate and I were once mirandized. He simply showed us a printout of Miranda Rights and tried to make us sign it that we’d received & read it. We weren’t at fault, a -very- vengeful third roommate was trying to arrest us for taking down the caustic bumper stickers on our entrance door after she was kicked out of school… we wound up freaking out so much that he gave up the attempt to arrest us, and we didn’t sign anything. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/26 "2006-10-13T14:53:58Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] Well, yes, actually. Many police officers carry small business cards with the Miranda warning printed on them. [/QUOTE] Hence the phrase “read him his rights.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/27 "2006-10-13T15:04:46Z")
Diogenes, what exactly is your standard? What procedure do you feel the police should have to comply with? And don’t just say something meaningless like “the police should do all they can” - actually describe, step by step, what you want them to do. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/28 "2006-10-13T15:07:56Z")
> [@](#): > > How do blind people function after being arrested–i.e. in prison? I doubt if prisons allow seeing-eye dogs, and a white cane would make a pretty dangerous weapon in the hands of your cellmates. Actually, we train seeing-eye dogs in prison. As for blind prisoners (or deaf ones or wheelchair-bound ones) we group them together into “special needs” units. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/29 "2006-10-13T16:11:44Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Diogenes, what exactly is your standard? What procedure do you feel the police should have to comply with? And don’t just say something meaningless like “the police should do all they can” - actually describe, step by step, what you want them to do. [/QUOTE] I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to find out. I’m curious. I think that allowing an blind person to obtain some kind of confirmation from a sighted witness (preferablly someone the blind person knows) would probably be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/30 "2006-10-13T16:12:09Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] In order to convict someone of a crime, it is necessary to show that the person _intended_ to commit a crime. [/QUOTE] Come on, man, just think about it for a second. This couldn’t possibly be more wrong. While it may be true for certain types of homicide, it’s not true in general. Laws are laws. Why should we have to prove that someone _intended_ to break the law? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/31 "2006-10-13T16:19:19Z")
[QUOTE=Jayrot] Come on, man, just think about it for a second. This couldn’t possibly be more wrong. While it may be true for certain types of homicide, it’s not true in general. Laws are laws. Why should we have to prove that someone _intended_ to break the law? [/QUOTE] It’s called [_mens rea_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_rea). It actually is necessary to show this in order to convict somebody of a crime. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/32 "2006-10-13T20:54:57Z")
[QUOTE=chappachula] a white cane would make a pretty dangerous weapon in the hands of your cellmates. [/QUOTE] No, not really. The white cane used by a blind person is quite different from the walking cane used by a person with leg problems. I have a blind friend; her white canes are all hollow plastic tubes, with an elastic cord running thru them. This allows her to fold them up to fit into a purse or similar. They are very light plastic, intended to easily transmit vibrations back to her hand when the tip hits a step or something. A walking cane is much stronger (and heavier), intended to be weight-bearing. They would not work nearly as well to guide a blind person. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/33 "2006-10-14T02:31:33Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s called mens rea. It actually is necessary to show this in order to convict somebody of a crime. That’s true in many cases but not all. In statuatory rape cases, for example, it’s not necessary to show an intent to commit an illegal act; the commission of the act itself, regardless of whether or not the accused knew his partner’s age, is sufficient for a conviction. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/34 "2006-10-14T08:42:48Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] Also, iIn some jurisdictions, the back side of the card will have the warning printed in Spanish, or another appropriate language. [/QUOTE] You mean, like Braille? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255/35 "2006-10-14T10:15:23Z")
Also keep in mind, folks, that most blind people are not TOTALLY blind. Their vision may be insufficient to allow them to, say, drive a car but they might retain enough vision for it to be an aid in identifying people and uniforms. I was worked with a blind woman who couldn’t read print but retained enough vision to identify skin and hair color which, along with voices and walking patterns, helped her to identify people. When I lived in Rogers Park a local blind woman was raped. When the cops showed up she apparently identified one of them by name just based on his voice - seems they both liked to eat breakfast at the same restaurant so she was familiar with him. She was also able to pick her attacker out of a line up - instead of looking at them she identified the guy by touching his hands and listening to him speak. Blind people might not be able to identify people by sight, but they certainly can identify people using other cues. Including the way equipment belts creak when cops walk or move around, background sound from their radios, and so forth. I suppose someone could delibrately set out to decieve/kidnap a blind person, but how is that different than someone impersonating a cop by using a uniform and a fake badge? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-arrest-blind-people/376255.md?page=1)