While it may technically be true that cops are racist, it’s probably less true of the police than of the population in general.
Teach him to live in abject terror.
I’d translate all this into kidspeak as: “You can always go to the police for help. If a police officer tells you to do something, you do it, but you don’t have to *talk *to him except to give him my phone number. You have him call me and I’ll come help you.” Luckily with cell phones, I’m always reachable now, day or night.
And yeah, stealing a police uniform is the perfect way to kidnap a kid. Because no matter how much I want to make them safe, I can’t figure out a way to reconcile “do what they say”, which is vital to their safety, with “except if you think he’s fake.” Kids just don’t have that kind of judgement yet.
Obviously, as they get older you can add more nuances about illegal search and seizure, Miranda rights and the rest. But I still emphasize that the police officer is not a judge. Pleading your case with him, once that ticket pad is out or the handcuffs are off his belt, will *not *go well for you. Doesn’t matter how innocent you are - he’s not the judge. Cooperate and you might not get hurt, and save it for court.
Do not make eye contact unless addressed by a cop.
Do not volunteer any information about yourself.
Just be polite and civil.
Do not make any quick movements.
When in the presence of 3 or more cops, you are more likely to be physically abused.
Remember, cops are not your friend. They are out to bust you.
Police should be obeyed within common sense reason.
Be polite.
If you feel the situation is getting out of control, (ie the cop is trying to pin something on you), It is time to politely and civilly inquire if you are under arrest. If the answer is “no”, then it is time to inquire if you are free to leave. If the answer is “no”, then it is reasonable to ask for an explanation as to why you are being detained. If you do this in a polite and civil manner you ought to receive some information from the officer to help you decide if you need to clam up and ask for a lawyer. You don’t HAVE to answer their questions, but it is sensible to reply to basic inquiries like your personal information, and what you were/are doing etc.
If you have nothing to hide, let them search your vehicle, but insist firmly and politely that they be respectful of your property if they start getting rough with it. If you are not under arrest, they shouldn’t be slicing open your seat cushions for instance.
Be accurate with your statements. If they ask if you have any weapons or drugs on you, be precise: “I have a pocketknife in my right pocket, and my allergy medicine.” Neither are illegal or really what the officer meant, but a cop is likely to interpret an answer of “no” as a smart ass response.
Always keep your prescription medicine in the little container with your name on it and the current date. This will save you any amount of trouble in a search situation.
I object to this piece of advice. Assuming we are talking about the United States, if the cop has no warrant and no probable cause, he should not be in your vehicle whether you have something to hide or not. We should not teach our children to surrender their rights. Governments are not to be trusted.
I can think of hundreds of counterexamples to that statement. :rolleyes:
There are multitudes of stories of police overexercising their power and abusing their authority. Obviously I’m not saying that they all do it, but cops are people and just as people let titles and authority go to their head, there will inevitably be law enforcers that do the same.
When we graduated high school, my best friend became a cop. I played cards and partied with them. if you knew what they thought of the public it would give you chills. Stay away unless you absolutely need one.
This is a great post. However, it’s worth looking at why being a cop can be a “thankless” job. I don’t think the same wouldn be said about firefighters for example.
In addition to the small percentage of police officers that are corrupt, many people today feel that some of the laws enforced by the good police officers just doing their jobs, are themselves unjust. Thus, there is extra mistrust towards the authority. This is not the police officer’s fault of course, but that doesn’t stop it from quickly turning into a feedback loop of animosity and disrespect in both directions. Seems like a dangerous situation for society at large until the laws are changed to fall more in line with the basic needs and realities of the people who live under them.
I was learning to play the bagpipes. Bagpipe bands attract cops. The homophobic comments were bad enough, but you hear that shit everywhere. When the older, near retirement, cop was giving the younger cop tips on how to get away with perjury I decided I really didn’t want to spend time with such people any more.
When I have interacted with police acting in thier official capacity, twice they have behaved like civil, respectful adults. On a half dozen or so other occasions they were complete and total dicks. On one occasion two of them attempted to provoke me into taking a swing at them, becoming increasingly abusive as I refused to take the bait.
Teach your nephew not to piss off a cop. Also teach him not to piss ON one, especially if the cop is on fire.
I think the average person thinks lower of cops than the average cop thinks of the public. Nobody likes the cops.
I may not have anything illegal to hide, but that doesn’t mean I’m cool with strangers pawing through my belongings for no good reason.
Government and the police; are the compromise to individual liberties for which every civilization and its members must enjoin. One can argue either side of the equation and find good and bad examples in any environment. The fact is the police are a necessity albeit one that should be constantly challenged to ensure that the proper balance is maintained.
This is my general philosophy. Regardless of the lawfulness of my activities or my views on a particular law in order to meet my end of the compromise I will:
- Be respectful
- Recognize the inherent risks the Police Officer must experience each and every day and do my best NOT to increase this risk by maintaining a calm demeanor and taking no threatening actions.
- Provide cooperation only as it will benefit me or a member of society. IE: I would help an injured Police officer (he is a member of society) but I would NOT allow him to search my belongings without the legal requirement to do so.
In turn what I expect from the police:
- To treat me with equal respect
- Enforce the laws fairly and equally.
- To maintain the highest degree of integrity and to be an example the rest of us should strive for.
The modern dilemma we find ourselves facing is some Police representatives have not maintained their end of the compromise and the built up resentment causes fear and mistrust.
This mistrust coupled with the cynicism of our age causes more society members to break their end of the compromise. As this cycle repeats itself each side pulls farther away until???
As a member of society I will strive to restore the balance and I hope the Police will do the same.
-Joe
Outside the realm of me getting rescued from a burning building, and getting out of the way in traffic for emergency vehicles, I’m not taking orders from a fireman.
If you are not legally required to allow a cop to search you or your stuff, but you can recognize why a cop might have reason to suspect you of a crime, why not just allow the search? I can understand refusing to allow a search where a cop just wants to be an intimidating asshole, but working very closely with the police I am confident saying that cops are almost never looking for trouble, and just like you they want whatever problems they encounter to be resolved as painlessly and easily as possible. But you can bet that if a cop suspects you of something and you refuse a search, the cop will do everything legally in his power to detain or force you to submit to a search. The alternative is just letting a person they suspect to be a criminal just leave.
What is legally in his power? Isn’t the whole problem that it isn’t legally in his power to force you to submit to a search on a hunch?
On the OP, I think my first word of advice is that even if you run into a bad cop, being polite doesn’t cost you anything, and it might get the power-tripping moron off your back.
Why SHOULD you allow the search? You have nothing to gain by doing so. You don’t get extra credit points for submitting to the police when they have no legal grounds to search your car. It’s like when people immediately slow down when they see a police car even though they weren’t speeding in the first place. People tend to fear the police even when they’ve done nothing wrong, and there are times when that fear is justified. But waiving your rights to try and prove your innocence can come back and bite you in the ass. You should treat them respectfully and cooperate to the extent required by law, but going beyond that is not always a good idea.
Even if you DIDN’T do anything wrong, there could be negative repercussions for you, if, say, someone left a roach in your ashtray, unbeknownst to you. Or, say, you just don’t feel like having your car torn apart while you stand by the side of the road feeling humiliated, and end up late to wherever you were going
The fact is, if they’re asking your permission, it’s because they DON’T have legal grounds for the search. When they do, they don’t ask.
Here’s an ACLU video on the topic that I think gives some good examples of dos and don’ts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA&feature=related
Of course, that’s silly. If the choice is between allowing a search (which you know will turn out in your favor) or being arrested and detained and searched at some point in the future anyway, then you have a whole lot to gain by allowing the police to search your stuff.
Cops do not want to arrest you. Honestly, they don’t. I perform citizen’s arrests on someone probably 5 times a month during the course of my work duties, and the cops (who can legitimately send every one of these guys to jail) overwhelmingly want to just issue citations for the laws they broke and release them. Anyway, the point is that cops want to use the least amount of coercion possible to get their job done and settle whatever suspicions they have. If a cop suspects you of something, the fastest and easiest way to settle that suspicion is to be open and honest, even if the law says you don’t have to be.
It couldn’t happen (legally) that you’d have the choice between allowing a search and being arrested. If you have the option to not allow the search, that means they don’t have cause to arrest you.
It is not always true that the fastest and easier way to settle their unfounded suspicion is to cooperate. It would actually be quicker and easier and more empowering for me to ask if I’m under arrest and, if not, be on my way. (And again, if so, they won’t be asking to search my car anyway, because they won’t need my permission.) I like my rights. I don’t feel that they’re only to be exercised when you have something to hide.
This.
I am a white middle-class private school teacher living in a countryside area with the lowest rate of crime in England.
I know several of the local police officers. They are unarmed, call me ‘Sir’ or ‘Mr. Glee’ and have responded to the occasional report I’ve made (of suspicious behaviour) with alacrity. I even received a letter of thanks when they caught a criminal based on my report.
Any of our pupils know they can get immediate and professional help from these local police.
Obviously this is an extreme case, but clearly some US posters are giving the extreme opposite.