Police Want to Interview You? Your Rights in SA

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 South Australia 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, you do not have to go to a police station, and you do not have to be interviewed. Take advice before you decide because what you say cannot easily be undone.

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. South Australia asks for more than most. Your full name, your date of birth, your residential address, and your business address. Refusing to give those or giving false details is an offense. Everything else, 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.

Beyond those details, no negative conclusion can be drawn from your silence. If you do decide to talk to police, get legal advice first, and a lawyer can be with you when you do. 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 South Australia. If police have asked to interview you, get advice before you go, not after. There is free legal help in South Australia on weekdays, and the number is on the screen now. Our own hotline is free, and it is open twenty four hours.