# How does ‘don’t leave town’ work
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-don-t-leave-town-work/815110
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 30, 2018, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-don-t-leave-town-work/815110 "2018-05-30T05:15:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2018, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-don-t-leave-town-work/815110/1 "2018-05-30T05:15:07Z")
I’ve seen it in hundreds of films and TV shows. A guy/gal is a person of interest and gets told by the detectives, “you’re free to go but don’t leave town”.
Is that a legal restriction? Do they need to get a warrant or something similar to hold you? Or is just a strong suggestion?
Or does it even happen in real life?
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2018, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-don-t-leave-town-work/815110/2 "2018-05-30T05:29:29Z")
It doesn’t happen in reality. A police officer doesn’t have the authority to restrict your movement like that.
Well, let me add some weasel words here, because there’s always a possibility that a police officer has heard the saying so many times on TV that they think they do have that authority. I’m not going to say it truly never happens, but in reality, they don’t have that authority, and it shouldn’t happen. If a police officer ever tells you that, it’s legally meaningless.
A judge can hand down an order limiting someone’s movements if they are going to trial, but if you aren’t actually charged with anything, I don’t think even a judge can restrict your movement like that.
(I’m an engineer, not a lawyer, etc…)
ETA: Here’s a quote from a real police officer:
> [@Paul Harding](#):
>
> Real police officers don’t have the authority to give such an order, and we know that if we gave such an order to a real suspect the immediate response would be, “What happens if I DO leave town?” At that point, the real police officer would be standing there breaking the second rule of having a successful shift - he would be looking like an idiot.
>
> So, we don’t say such things in real life.
Posted here:
[https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-meaning-when-a-cop-says-don’t-leave-town](https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-meaning-when-a-cop-says-don%E2%80%99t-leave-town)
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### Author:  [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2018, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-don-t-leave-town-work/815110/3 "2018-05-30T06:15:50Z")
I suppose the implication is “If you try to disappear you’ll look guilty as hell, so if you’re trying to persuade us you’re not, you’d better stick around”.
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### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2018, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-don-t-leave-town-work/815110/4 "2018-05-30T06:47:40Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#):
>
> Is that a legal restriction? Do they need to get a warrant or something similar to hold you? Or is just a strong suggestion?
It’s a story-telling device from suspense dramas. It induces the audience to keep that character more in the foreground.
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### Author:  [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2018, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-don-t-leave-town-work/815110/5 "2018-05-30T06:59:16Z")
We’ve got an unexplained death case running here currently, where someone the police want to interview did leave town.
He went to another country, and was with his father when his father died in hospital.
So (1), the police didn’t stop him.
and (2), the press reported that he’d left the country. He’s going to have a hard time living that down.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2018, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-don-t-leave-town-work/815110/6 "2018-05-30T10:04:21Z")
The only times I know of that your movement can be restricted like that are as a condition of bail and a condition of parole.
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### Author:  [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-don-t-leave-town-work/815110/7 "2018-05-30T12:40:58Z")
Thanks for the replys everyone, especially e\_c\_g. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Still as common as a trope it is I’m a little surprised it has no basis in fact. Ignorance fought.
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### Author:  [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2018, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-don-t-leave-town-work/815110/8 "2018-05-30T14:27:47Z")
Yeah, not a legal restriction. At best, it would be a way for the cop to let someone know that they’re keeping an eye on that person, although it’s a less efficient way than saying, “I’m keeping an eye on you.”