The Police may want to ask you questions, whether or not you are under arrest, and whether you are at the Police Station or on the street, you only need give police your name, address and date of birth or address where you usually live but do not have to say anything more.
If you answer any questions that the Police may ask you and it becomes apparent that you might be involved in (rather than a witness) an offence for which you are likely to be charged, you should be given a “Caution” along these lines:
“You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so, but whatever you do say may be given in evidence.”
The caution may not be the exact words above but should be along the lines that:
- You are not required to speak but are free to do so; and
- If you do speak, anything you say can be relayed to the court and used.
If you do not wish to answer any questions, you should politely make this clear by saying “no comment”. However, if you have a simple explanation about questions being asked, it may be sensible to answer the questions.
You may also want to respond by saying:
- “I do not wish to answer any questions until I have spoken to a lawyer”; or
- “I do not wish to answer any questions without my parents here.”
There are some situations when legally you must answer questions that are put to you by the Police. If this applies to you, the Police should tell you that you must answer the questions by law and if you fail to, you can be charged.
Examples where you must answer questions put to you by Police:
- If your house is being searched for drugs, you must answer certain questions.
- Certain questions about who was driving as the owner of a car.
- Certain questions about your identification at Licensed Premises (Pubs, Nightclubs).