Police

Right and responsabilities

Any time the police can approach you and ask you questions. You should always ask about the reason why they want to talk to you. Police cannot take you anywhere unless you are under arrest or you agreed to go with them. You have the right to remain silent, they cannot force you to talk.

The police can ask you for identification for many reasons such as when driving a car, had an accident or when committing an offence. When giving police a false identity, this will lead you to trouble because you are breaking the law, giving a mistaken identity is an offence. The police have the right to search you, if you refuse you will be under arrest and questioned at the police station.The police have the right to ask you to move on if you are obstracting, harassing people, buying or selling illegal drugs. When interviewed and questioned by police, the circumstances vary depending on the age of the arrested person.

There are two types of authority for police to search a person:

1- If they have a search warrant

2- When the law allows them to search without a warrant.

The police can use drug sniffer dogs, either they have a warrant or not, in places like clubs, pubs, concerts and some public transport.

On the other hand, in most situations the police are not allowed to break the law. As they have special powers, they also have rules that they must follow. If they break the rules, you have the right to complain. You can make a complaint without giving your name, but you have to give enough information about what they did so the situation will be questioned.

A complaint can be directed to a police officer, the complaint will be refered to the Police Commissioner who must forward the complaint, if serious, to the Ombudsman. If the complaint is about corruption, it will be refered to the Police Integrity Commissioner. If you have a complaint about the Australian Federal Police ( AFP ), it can be addressed directly to the AFP Professional Standards Centre, either online or by telephone.

To sum up, the police like other people, have rights as well as responsabilities. Law and rules have to be respected by every individual especially in a free country like Australia.