Police Want to Interview You? Your Rights in the ACT

Transcript

The police have rung or left a card asking you to come in for an interview. Of every question people bring to our hotline, this is the one we hear most. Here is what the law in the ACT actually says. Start with this. Being asked to come in for an interview is not the same as being under arrest. They are two different situations, and your position is different in each. So do you have to go? If you are not under arrest and not in protective custody, you do not have to go anywhere with police, and you do not have to be interviewed. If they do arrest you, they must tell you the offense.

Whether you go or not, you have the right to silence. You do not have to answer any questions the police ask you. You can say no comment to every question, and staying silent is not, by itself, evidence of guilt. You do have to give your name, your address, and your date of birth, where police believe you have committed an offence. Giving false details is an offence in itself. Everything beyond that, you can decline to answer. Before they question you as a suspect, police must caution you that you do not have to say or do anything, but that anything you say or do may be given in evidence.

If police do interview you, you are entitled to say no comment to every question other than your name, your address, and your date of birth. And remember this, nothing is off the record. Anything you say can be used as evidence in court. One more thing. Police powers are state law. How long you can be held, when a caution must be given, and the rules for young people all differ around the country. This video is about the ACT. If police have asked to interview you, get advice before you go, not after. There is free legal help in the ACT on weekdays, and the number is on the screen now.

Our own hotline is free, and it is open twenty four hours.