What to do if the police detain you

Why you need to read this material

There are two reasons why it may seem that you do not need to read such texts: blind faith in the law or disbelief in it.

In the first case, you think that the police will never be interested in you, because you are not breaking anything. But alas, the reasons for the interest on the part of law enforcement agencies can be completely different.

In Moscow, a human rights activist was detained for playing petanque. In Arkhangelsk, a Muscovite who was in Finland at the time was "stopped", examined and deprived of his driving license for drunk driving. And at a hip-hop festival in the capital, they detained "How the dogs behaved." A Moscow student went to a hip-hop festival, was beaten by a police officer and received a concussion not only of troublemakers, but also of just the oncoming people.

In the second case, unfortunately, it is not easy to convince you. Further text will be based on the norms of the law and will tell you how everything should be. But there are no guarantees that these norms will be strictly observed. At the same time, you need to know your rights: it will be much more difficult to violate them, because you will at least be able to demand their observance.

Therefore, the text is worth reading. It's even better if you never need it.

Why you might be detained

According to the law, a police officer cannot approach the first person he meets and wring his hands. The reason should already be in order to simply check your documents. A police officer may ask to show your passport if:

He suspects you of a crime.
You have committed an administrative offense.
There are reasons to believe that you are wanted.
There are reasons to detain you.

As for the last point, these grounds are also spelled out in the law. You may be detained if:

You are suspected of committing a crime.
The court has ordered that you be detained.
You are evading a sentence or a court-ordered compulsory treatment.
You are wanted.
You tried to enter a guarded object (but for a maximum of three hours).
You tried to commit suicide.
You have signs of mental illness and could be dangerous to others.

What to look for at the moment of arrest

When checking documents or being detained, a police officer is obliged to announce his position, rank and surname, present an official ID, explain the reason for the appeal.

Try to remember this information and the details of what will happen in the future. The information will come in handy when meeting with a lawyer and drafting complaints and appeals.

By the way, the law does not prohibit filming a police officer while performing on video. Doing this on your own will most likely be problematic. But, if you were walking with someone, let the companion take this opportunity. It is better to choose such an angle so that you can see what exactly the law enforcement officer is doing.

If the police stopped you and then released you, take a look around. It is also worth checking your pockets for excess property. There are known cases when unscrupulous employees planted police officers who planted drugs on a visitor of Zaryadye, and they will bring to justice people something that does not belong to them. For example, a bag of drugs. And another policeman could have found him literally around the corner.

In this case, try not to touch the bag with your bare hands so as not to leave fingerprints on it. If possible, you need to get rid of the find, but there is no universal way to do this.

Leading lawyer of the European Legal Service Oleg Cherkasov advises to record and keep the hotline of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of your region. You can find it on the department's website, in the "Contacts" section.

Oleg Cherkasov Leading Lawyer of the European Legal Service

If a police officer knowingly acts unlawfully, it is likely that after your call he will abandon his intentions.

How to behave during arrest

Try to remain calm, do not be rude and do not make sudden movements that could qualify as the use of violence against a representative of authority. Don't try to hide from the police.

Try not to pick up anything that does not belong to you, even if you are persistently offered a bag or weapon with a request to identify.

What to do first after being arrested

If you feel that something is wrong, it is important to find a lawyer as soon as possible. Do not rely on a state-provided lawyer: he may not be financially interested in the success of the case, since he will receive his fee in any case. Plus he sees you for the first time, and he still has to work with the police.

The law gives the right to one telephone conversation with loved ones (spouse, parents, children, adoptive parents, adopted children, brothers and sisters, grandfather, grandmother, grandchildren).

It is important that we are talking about exactly the conversation. If you do not get through the first time, they have no right to deny you repeated attempts.

Call the loved one who will not waste time lamenting and will find you a lawyer as soon as possible. Now this is more important than emotions, since the purpose of the call, prescribed by law, is to notify about the detention and the location. Although the duration of the conversation is unlimited, it is unlikely that you will be given time for long explanations.

The police are obliged to give you the opportunity to contact your loved ones no later than three hours after the arrest.

What to say and what to sign

A detention report must be drawn up within three hours. It indicates the date and time of drawing up the protocol; date, time, place, grounds and motives for the arrest of the suspect; the results of his search and other circumstances.

A lot depends on the documents that you sign before meeting with a lawyer, so be careful.

Mistakes in the protocol will help to stretch the time until the meeting with the human rights defender. If the circumstances from your words are recorded incorrectly, the facts are distorted, it is your right not to sign the document. True, it will be difficult to use it if you are under pressure.

It is very important to find a lawyer in time: it is he who will help prevent violations during detention. Unfortunately, the ill-treatment of detainees and torture are not horror stories for adults, but a possible reality. Police officers from St. Petersburg extinguished cigarette butts on suspects, poured boiling water on them. In Buryatia, detainees were tortured with an electric shock and strangled.

In addition, your refusal to sign the protocol has no significant legal significance.

It is better not to refuse to sign the protocol, since in this case you do not express any objections to its content. The fact of refusal to sign in any case will be certified by attesting witnesses, your position will remain unheard and will not be reflected in the documents in any way.

Oleg Cherkasov Leading Lawyer of the European Legal Service

If you sign the protocol, make sure that everything is recorded correctly in it, and fill in the empty spaces with dashes: this will help to avoid falsification. Ask for copies of the minutes so that you have the documents in their original form in case something is added there. Or, indicate under the protocol what is written incorrectly, and put your signature only after that.

Remember: you can refuse to testify against yourself on the basis of Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. You may be told that it is beneficial to cooperate with the investigation. But if you are not guilty of anything, you simply do not have the opportunity to compromise and not lie to yourself.

How long do you have the right to detain

The term of administrative detention should not exceed three hours. The period can be extended up to 48 hours if it is necessary to establish your identity or the violation involves an administrative arrest.

When detained in a criminal case, the term is 48 hours. If during this time you have not been charged and the court has not issued an order on a measure of restraint in the form of detention or an extension of the period of detention, you must be released.

If the court decides to extend the period of detention, its total time cannot exceed 120 hours.

What other rights do you have

In addition to the right to call and the ability not to incriminate yourself, you can qualify for:

Translation services.
Medical assistance.
Hot food if you are delayed more than three hours.
A place to sleep if you are detained at night.

Things to Remember

Do not resist the police and do not try to escape.
Try not to touch something that doesn't belong to you.
Find out who is holding you and on what grounds.
Demand as soon as possible to give you the opportunity to call loved ones.
When talking with a loved one, decide the most important question - about a lawyer.
Watch what you sign.