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Looks like I can take the 5th after all. According to the British Foreign office site, I have the same constitutional rights as a US citizen, except I can't buy guns, have a library card, or declare a bid to become president

And If I'm travelling and/or holidaying in July, I must remain indoors on the 4th.

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

And If I'm travelling and/or holidaying in July, I must remain indoors on the 4th.

Sounds made up

Nah, on the 4th of July Americans go out into the streets, find people with British accents (Really any accent will do); and tar and feather them. In some locations, you are run out of town on a rail. It is a long and proud American tradition.

Either way, he should stay in doors on the 4th.

Ahh, Yes, The 4th of july annual British Hunt. I have such fond memories of it.
In my city the mayor would round up all the British families and release them on the Golf Course to us to trap. I bagged a Chav once.

It's like Weasel Stomping Day

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Ahh, Yes, The 4th of july annual British Hunt. I have such fond memories of it.
In my city the mayor would round up all the British families and release them on the Golf Course to us to trap. I bagged a Chav once.

I don't suppose you picked golf course as an ironic place to hold the annual British Hunt.

Steve steveson wrote:
Anyway, I don't see what is wrong if the police stop and ask to talk to you to smile and "I'm sorry officer, but I'm running late" and walking off. No need to start quoting law, that just makes it look like you are hiding something. Perhaps it's something to do with the diffrent style of policeing in the US that people are intimidated.

Unless you actually are running late for something, I don't see what is wrong with just answering their questions and moving on. They're just trying to do their job... a job that is often thankless, and that so much of the time sees them ostracised by the general community.

If you're not doing anything wrong, you have no reason to fear the police.

Yeah, in a western country, I'd have no reservations about talking to the police or answering any of their questions. At least at present. I've nothing to hide.

 SilverMK2 wrote:
If you want to know if you have to stay and talk/stay/etc I guess the best question is "am I legally obliged to..." And if the answer is no, ask if you can leave.

And you would be surprised how often they don't give an answer to those questions...

 insaniak wrote:

Steve steveson wrote:
If you're not doing anything wrong, you have no reason to fear the police.

Again, is this serious or not serious? I just want to know, because about three people have posted this all ready.

 AustonT wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Ahh, Yes, The 4th of july annual British Hunt. I have such fond memories of it.
In my city the mayor would round up all the British families and release them on the Golf Course to us to trap. I bagged a Chav once.

I don't suppose you picked golf course as an ironic place to hold the annual British Hunt.

No, Why? Golf Course just popped into my head.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Easy E wrote:

 insaniak wrote:

Steve steveson wrote:
If you're not doing anything wrong, you have no reason to fear the police.

Again, is this serious or not serious? I just want to know, because about three people have posted this all ready.

I am Serious about it. Why should a Law Abiding Citizen have the need to fear the police.

 AustonT wrote:

hotsauceman1 wrote:If you are not doing anything Illegal, Why fear the police?

Quoted for truth.

And all of you that don't "fear" the police aren't paying attention to the abuses of police power that happen every day in the first world.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Easy E wrote:

Steve steveson wrote:
If you're not doing anything wrong, you have no reason to fear the police.

Again, is this serious or not serious? I just want to know, because about three people have posted this all ready.

I am Serious about it. Why should a Law Abiding Citizen have the need to fear the police.

Because Police are flawed individuals just like you and I; except with the legal power to fine, imprison, assault, or kill you.

They have their own agendas and perceptions, just like you and I. These perceptions and agendas will not always align with your best interests.

Final point, do you know what all the laws are in your municipality? Probably not, so you honestly hav eno idea if you are doing something "wrong" or not.

 Easy E wrote:
Because Police are flawed individuals just like you and I; except with the legal power to fine, imprison, assault, or kill you.

...and are accountable for those actions.

Final point, do you know what all the laws are in your municipality? Probably not, so you honestly hav eno idea if you are doing something "wrong" or not.

Which doesn't change the point.

Refusing to talk to police on the off chance that you might have broken some law that you're not aware of is bordering on the ridiculously paranoid.

 insaniak wrote:

Refusing to talk to police on the off chance that you might have broken some law that you're not aware of is bordering on the ridiculously paranoid.

Many departments in the US utilize internal quotas for citations, or loose measures of productivity to assess the work of any given officer. And yes, they do use casual conversation as a means to elicit grounds for issuing citations on the basis that it is, ultimately, their word against the cited in any potential challenge.

 dogma wrote:

 insaniak wrote:

Refusing to talk to police on the off chance that you might have broken some law that you're not aware of is bordering on the ridiculously paranoid.

Many departments in the US utilize internal quotas for citations, or loose measures of productivity to assess the work of any given officer. And yes, they do use casual conversation as a means to elicit grounds for issuing citations on the basis that it is, ultimately, their word against the cited in any potential challenge.

Yep...

Don't ya'll have speed traps in Australia?

 whembly wrote:
Don't ya'll have speed traps in Australia?

Police in Oz use a mixture of fixed speed cameras, mobile speed cameras and radar guns.

Whichever one they are using, you'll only get caught speeding if you're actually, you know, speeding.

Back on the topic, though, I just wonder why this speculative stop and search is such a widespread problem in "the land of the free".

 SilverMK2 wrote:
If you want to know if you have to stay and talk/stay/etc I guess the best question is "am I legally obliged to..." And if the answer is no, ask if you can leave.

I don't really have a problem talking with the police, but it is nice to know up front if they seem like they are trying to get you to do things you don't have to.

Thats actually good advice in the US as well. The language to use is "am I being legally detained?" If they say no you can leave. If they say yes you have rights to remain silent at that point. Say "at this time I am discontinuing the interview and do not consent to any further discussions or searches."

 Alfndrate wrote:

 rubiksnoob wrote:

 kronk wrote:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:


Are American police obliged to tell you your rights if you ask for them?

When you are arrested, they are required to tell you your Miranda rights.

..The person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be clearly informed that he or she has the right to remain silent, and that anything the person says will be used against that person in court; the person must be clearly informed that he or she has the right to consult with an attorney and to have that attorney present during questioning, and that, if he or she is indigent, an attorney will be provided at no cost to represent her or him.

They are also required to make a witty and/or ironic statement/barb as they slap cuffs on you, or at least that is what police procedurals have led me to believe.

Horatio Cane is really the foundation of all modern police training videos, just ask Kanluwen.

It's true.

You are required to have a degree in Sunglasses and Witty Remarks to even be considered for the detective exams.

 insaniak wrote:

Steve steveson wrote:
Anyway, I don't see what is wrong if the police stop and ask to talk to you to smile and "I'm sorry officer, but I'm running late" and walking off. No need to start quoting law, that just makes it look like you are hiding something. Perhaps it's something to do with the diffrent style of policeing in the US that people are intimidated.

Unless you actually are running late for something, I don't see what is wrong with just answering their questions and moving on. They're just trying to do their job... a job that is often thankless, and that so much of the time sees them ostracised by the general community.

If you're not doing anything wrong, you have no reason to fear the police.

Their job is to arrest you.

 Frazzled wrote:
[Their job is to arrest you.

Their job is to arrest me if I've done something to warrant arrest.

If I haven't, I have no reason to be worried about talking to them.

 insaniak wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
[Their job is to arrest you.

Their job is to arrest me if I've done something to warrant arrest.

If I haven't, I have no reason to be worried about talking to them.

No, their job is to arrest you. Its the legal system's job to determine if you warranted arrest.

They still need a valid reason to arrest you. Otherwise they wind up facing lawsuits over wrongful arrest.

 insaniak wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
Because Police are flawed individuals just like you and I; except with the legal power to fine, imprison, assault, or kill you.

...and are accountable for those actions.

Yes, but that is little comfort when you are facing a lengthy legal battle to reverse a fine, challenge an unlawful arrest, or you know, dead.

 rubiksnoob wrote:

Yes, but that is little comfort when you are facing a lengthy legal battle to reverse a fine, challenge an unlawful arrest, or you know, dead.

Or perhaps lost a job due to being detained.

 dogma wrote:

 rubiksnoob wrote:

Yes, but that is little comfort when you are facing a lengthy legal battle to reverse a fine, challenge an unlawful arrest, or you know, dead.

Or perhaps lost a job due to being detained.

Exactly. It is much easier to simply say, "Sorry, but I've got to go." and leave without giving something like that the chance to happen.

 insaniak wrote:
They still need a valid reason to arrest you. Otherwise they wind up facing lawsuits over wrongful arrest.

A wrongful arrest is separate than a nonconviction.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:


I am Serious about it. Why should a Law Abiding Citizen have the need to fear the police.

Cause the man is out to get you. Always. Didn't you know?

 Kilkrazy wrote:
To what extent do US police hang around waiting to harass people for no particular reason?

I mean, are there any data on the number of "consensual" compared to "investigatory" encounters, or is this another piece of Internet fuelled bolshie bs?

I've had issues when I was out running. I always dress appropriately for running so it's really annoying and has happened more than once. Another time I was leaving a club drunk as hell and one tried to talk to me then stopped as soon as the sober one held up the car keys. Last but not least, I had taken a friend of mine to the mall to return a phone and he was apparently super drunk and I hadn't noticed (he had a natural slur anyway) and started cussing the guy at the store out so they called the cops on him. I had tried to calm him down and get him to leave and apologized to the store clerks, so I did my best to keep my distance and just sat there but a cop approached me and started asking questions. I asked if I was free to go or being detained and his response was "wait." I knew I wasn't being detained so I just waited it out to see if I could find out where they were taking him to let his family know or give him a ride home to sober up if he walked away from it (which he did, partially because of me waiting for him).

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
If you are not doing anything Illegal, Why fear the police?

Because some of them abuse their power and I should be able to go out for a run without being harassed. And they never bothered me all the times I actually was carrying something illegal, so why should they now?

 insaniak wrote:

Refusing to talk to police on the off chance that you might have broken some law that you're not aware of is bordering on the ridiculously paranoid.

When the officer is trying to ticket people to make quota or you don't have $80~ to spare or his wife just left him and he's pissed off, not really. If a big, strong guy walked up to you and started trying to intimidate you while you were out with your (presumed?) wife, you'd feel differently, so why does the guy in blue get special privilege?