You have the right to remain silent, whether you have been stopped in the street, have agreed to go to the police station or are under arrest. However, the police do have the power to ask you basic questions and in some situations, you may be breaking the law if you refuse to answer.
While Australian police officers are not obligated to recite the Miranda Rights, nor does Australia even have a comparable version of them, Australians do have a fundamental legal right to silence. This means that you do have the right to remain silent when questioned prior to or during legal proceedings.
In general, criminal suspects in Australia have the right to refuse to answer questions posed to them by police before trial and to refuse to give evidence at trial. However a person must provide their full name, address, place of birth, and date of birth if asked to by police.
If you waive your 5th Amendment right to remain silent and voluntarily speak to the police, anything you tell them can be used against you in court to prosecute you for the crimes that you are being charged with.
Under Australian law, a data access order may “only be made against a person who is suspected of committing an offence attracting a penalty of five years imprisonment or more, and who has the relevant knowledge necessary to gain access to the device”.
Members of the public have the right to take photographs of or film police officers, and incidents involving police officers, which are observable from a public space, or from a privately owned place with the consent of the owner/occupier.
Freedom to photograph and film
Members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places and police have no power to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel.
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects people from being compelled to give testimony that could incriminate them. This is not the same as saying that a person has a right to silence at all times. In some situations, police may use silence itself as incriminating evidence.
Silence could act as a threat where it was done in a way which could induce fear in the victim; where the victim is afraid that the threat will be acted on in the near future, this could amount to an assault.
The added benefit of silence is it acts as a natural filter to your thoughts. It gives you time to think about what you are feeling and what those feelings mean to you. I have realized that this part of the practice is also a powerful way to deal with anger.
They can ask you to give your name and address, especially if they reasonably suspect you've broken the law. The officer must warn you that it's an offence not to give them your correct name and address. The police have wider powers to identify you if they reasonably suspect that you're part of a criminal organisation.
Salinas v.
Texas, the Supreme Court effectively placed an asterisk on the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. The Supreme Court held that a suspect's silence in the face of police questioning could be used against him at trial because he did not explain why he was remaining silent.
Cops are legally allowed to lie when they're investigating, and they are trained to be manipulative. The only thing you should say to cops, other than identifying yourself, is the Magic Words: "I am going to remain silent. I want to see a lawyer."
In general, you have the right to silence. This means that you do not have to answer any questions the police ask you. It can be a good idea to use this right, because what you say to the police, no matter when or where, could be used against you.
If you're being held for questioning about an indictable offence, the police can hold you for up to 8 hours, but they can only question you for up to 4 hours.
You DO NOT have to give your name and address unless the officer points out an offence he / she suspects you have committed. However, not providing your details may lead to you being detained for longer.
In most cases, admission by silence is not admissible in court. However, there are limited exceptions. First and foremost, evidence of a defendant's silence can only be introduced against a defendant who was not under arrest at the time the accusation was made.
Punishment: If a person uses silence to punish someone or to exert control or power over them, this is a form of emotional abuse.
The so-called 'blue code' of silence is alleged to protect misbehaving officers and staff from outside scrutiny or punishment. We aimed to explore this code of silence and the extent to which the seriousness or type of infringements might influence a respondent to say they would report certain behaviours.
Section 12. (1) Any person under investigation for the commission of an offense shall have the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice.
Australia does not have Miranda rights but instead has similar rights that come from the Evidence Act 1995 and the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW).
The 'right to remain silent' warning has become a familiar phrase in today's popular culture, but it did not become part of the police vocabulary until two landmark Supreme Court decisions, Escobedo v. Illinois (1964) and Miranda v. Arizona (1966), established this important right.
Can I Walk Away From a Police Officer? Unless a police officer has probable cause to make an arrest, reasonable suspicion to conduct a stop and frisk, or a warrant, a person generally has the legal right to walk away from the officer.
Privacy and BWV
Under data protection legislation, police officers must inform people that they're being filmed wherever possible, and the cameras feature a flashing red light to warn when recording is taking place.
No, not unless your recording is interfering with what they are doing. Police do not have the right to seize cell phones just because the public is recording them. Predictably, police usually do not appreciate it when the general public records them going about their job.