What happens if you never identify yourself?

Can I be arrested for refusing to provide my identification? In California, non-drivers cannot be lawfully arrested solely for refusing to provide identification to a police officer. However, police officers in the state have been known to make the arrest, anyway.

What happens if you refuse to tell the police your name?

If the police think you are a witness to a crime, they should tell you this. If you refuse to provide your name, address, date and place of birth and nationality after you have been told by the police why they have stopped to question you this refusal is an offence you could be arrested and charged for.

What must police officers inform suspects while they are being arrested?

Your rights when being questioned The police must explain this to you by reading you the police caution: “You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”

What are the rights of an arrested person?

Article 22(2) of the constitution provides that “no person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed as soon as may be, of the grounds of such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.”

What is plainclothes officer?

: dressed in civilian clothes while on duty —used especially of a police officer.

Can a police officer arrest a person for failing to provide identification?

LAPD’s continued statements concerning an officer’s authority to arrest a person for merely failing to provide identification are not only inaccurate but contrary to law. Without a valid reason to identify her, the officer seems only to have wanted to detain and punish her for exercising her rights. The LAPD, of course, disagrees.

Is it a crime to refuse to identify yourself as a witness?

Note that it is not a crime to refuse to provide your name or other biographical information when you are questioned as a witness. Refusing to identify yourself can mean that you tell an officer you refuse to provide that information, or even just not saying anything at all.

Can a stop-and-identify statute be cited as a basis for arrest?

That is, if a police officer stops a person for no apparent reason and then asks the person for his name, the officer cannot cite the stop-and-identify statute as his basis for a subsequent arrest because there was no lawful basis for the stop in the first place.

Can a state criminalize a refusal to produce identification?

In sum, Hiibel holds a state may criminalize a refusal to produce identification as long as the detention is predicated on a valid Terry stop (i.e., reasonable suspicion).