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Your Rights When Dealing With the Police
Should you speak with the police officer? Should you let the officer search your home or car? And what happens if you don’t?
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Learn about your options when the police want to question you, and find out when it's best to cooperate.
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When Can the Police Search My Car?
The constitution says that you have a right to be free from unreasonable searches of your home, your person, and your car. Car searches rarely involve a search warrant issued...
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How to Talk to Police When You're Pulled Over
Nobody likes to get pulled over, but if a police officer does stop you, you need to know how to talk to the officer. The main thing to remember is that a police officer approaching your car has no idea who you are and whether you pose a threat.
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Tactics Police Use to Get a Confession
Police officers use a variety of tactics in order to obtain confessions from people accused of committing crimes. If police want to question you, you need to know what to expect and how protect your rights.
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Racial Profiling and the Police
A distinguished Harvard professor and frequent television commentator returns home from a trip overseas. As he struggles with a sticky lock on his front door, Cambridge police officers who are cruising by stop and confront him. He identifies himself. You may imagine this story ends with the cops apologizing and maybe sharing an abashed chuckle with the professor. You would be wrong.
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Officers who misuse their power to fabricate evidence may be prosecuted, and the evidence kept out of court. Deliberately harming suspects is also an abuse of power.
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Can the Cops Question My Child about His Involvement in a Crime?
Police are free to approach children and question them about whether they were involved in a crime but, just as an adult can never be forced to answer questions from police in an interrogation, the child is not required to answer. The child can refuse to answer questions and can request that a lawyer or a parent be present.
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What can I do when the police tow my car?
Vehicles may be towed for many reasons. If the car or driver is not validly licensed, or is being arrested, the police may tow the car for safekeeping, or to conduct a more thorough search. Abandoned vehicles...
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Can Police Question a Child Who Has Witnessed or Been a Victim of a Crime?
Police are free to approach and question any child who may have witnessed or been the victim of a crime, just as they can contact and interview an adult. Police can question a child without a parent present and are not required to obtain permission from a parent before questioning the child.