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What are the rights police don’t want you to know about?
In this article, you’ll learn about your rights when you are:
… and much more.
Let’s dig in.
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There are 5 main categories for this topic.
These are the rights police don’t want you to know in the following situations:
These are rights police don’t want you to know if you’re stopped in public.
No, you cannot defend yourself against a cop.
Defending yourself against a cop is likely going to be physical or verbal resistance.
Getting charged with resistance will be a misdemeanor.
You can get fines and jail time for defending yourself against a cop.
Yes, you have to identify yourself to the police.
In most states, all you have to do is provide a name and address, if asked.
In other states, you have to provide your date of birth and driver’s license.
It’s the law that you have to provide identification if you’re suspected of a crime.
In California, you could get fined up to $1,000 for not identifying yourself to the police.
No, you do not have to tell a cop where you are going.
If you don’t tell the police where you are going, they may start asking more questions.
They want to determine the reasons for your travels or why you’re in the area.
You don’t have to answer any of these questions if you don’t want to.
You have the right to remain silent.
It is not mandatory that you answer the police’s questions.
Yes, you have the right to refuse to show your ID to the police.
But, in some states, you are legally required to show ID if you are in a vehicle, like:
Refusing to show your ID while in a vehicle in these states gets you fines and an arrest.
But, if you’re out in public, you can refuse to show your ID to the police.
These are one of the rights police don’t want you to know about.
They want you to feel like you have to show them your ID.
Whether you have to tell the police your name depends on the state you live in.
The states that require you to tell the police your name are:
For states that do require you to tell the police your name:
You have to tell them your name so they can properly identify you.
And so they can check for:
For states that don’t require you to tell the police your name:
These states don’t require you to tell the police your name it’s based on the Fifth Amendment.
This protects citizens from self-incrimination when talking to law enforcement officers.
These constitutional rights keep you from potentially self-incriminating yourself.
Yes, it’s illegal to not have an ID on you.
It’s illegal to not have your ID on you when you’re:
Public places where it’s illegal to not have your ID on you are:
This is different than you having to show ID to the police or tell them your name.
You are not legally required to show your ID to officers in public if you are:
Some public places have the ability to force you to show your ID to enter or stay.
Yes, you have to comply with police orders.
If you don’t comply, you could face criminal charges like:
You don’t have to comply if the police orders are unlawful.
Let’s say you’re stopped and searched without reasonable suspicion or probable cause.
This is an example of an unlawful order you wouldn’t have to comply with.
But, it’s there legitimately can’t be reasonable suspicion or probable cause.
If you wrongly assume there isn’t any and don’t comply, you’ll get criminal charges.
No, police are not legally required to identify themselves.
A lot of police departments have rules stating their police officers have to identify themselves.
But, it’s not a law that they have to identify themselves.
These are rights police don’t want you to know if you’re pulled over by the police.
No, a cop cannot pull you over for no reason.
A cop can only pull someone over if there is probable cause.
Meaning there is reasonable suspicion that:
What should you do if you think a cop pulled you over for no reason?
You should remain calm and politely ask if you are being detained or free to go.
But a better approach is to ask why you were pulled over.
So that you can better understand the situation.
When a cop pulls you over for no reason, you can:
Documenting police encounters means getting information like:
If the police damaged your car during a search, you have the right to file a complaint.
You can file a complaint with the police station.
The police department will investigate the damages.
The police station may:
Some police don’t want you to know about these rights.
They will damage your car during the search and try to get away with it.
Read More: Police Let Me Go After Finding Drugs
Yes, the police can ask you where you are going.
But, you do not have to tell them where you are going.
The police can ask you for a reasonable explanation for your whereabouts.
Especially if they suspect that there is any criminal activity going on.
No, the police do not have to tell you why they pulled you over.
But, they cannot pull you over without a reason.
Sometimes, they won’t tell you why they pulled you over.
You will still need to comply with their instructions to avoid getting criminal charges.
But, you should either:
Whether passengers have to show their ID in a traffic stop depends on the state.
The following states require passengers to show ID in a traffic stop:
In the remaining states, passengers may not have to show their ID in a traffic stop.
But, a passenger not showing their ID could be a failure to comply.
This can land the passenger with misdemeanor charges in some states.
It’s easier to just show your ID to the officer than chance breaking the law.
A cop can follow you however long they deem reasonable.
They will follow you until they think you’re no longer suspicious of criminal activity.
No, a police officer cannot open your car door without your permission.
It would be a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights.
Yes, you have to get out of your car for the police.
They will ask you to get out of the car if they believe you are involved in criminal activity.
Refusing to get out of the car for the police is a failure to comply.
This can get you arrested or a citation.
These are rights police don’t want you to know if the police are at your door.
No, you do not have to open the door for the police.
Homeowners have the right to remain silent and refuse to open the door.
The only reason you’d get in trouble for not opening the door is if they have a search warrant.
The police can force their way into your house if:
This is a common right police don’t want you to know.
They will try to get in without a warrant by making up something.
Yes, you can tell cops to get off your property.
But, they have a right to be on your property if they:
They can use reasonable force to gain access to your property if they think:
Your ability to tell cops to get off your property is a right police don’t want you to know.
Police cannot enter private property without permission.
Police can only enter private property without permission if they:
Cops can enter private property if criminal activities are happening in plain view.
Leaving evidence of a crime out in plain view is things like:
Police can come to your house as many times as they want if they have a legitimate reason.
If they show up without justifiable cause, you need to know your rights.
Reach out to an attorney so that you can figure out what your legal rights are.
A criminal defense attorney can file a complaint with the local police station.
This will minimize how many times police come to your house without a justifiable cause.
If the police damaged your property during a search, you have the right to file a complaint.
You can file a complaint with the police station.
The police department will investigate the property damages.
The police station may:
Some police don’t want you to know about these rights.
They will damage your property during the search and try to get away with it.
Yes, a cop can go into your backyard if:
If they don’t have any of these, then, no, a cop cannot go into your backyard.
No, police cannot arrest you in your home without an arrest warrant.
Even if police know you committed a crime and that you’re home, they still need a warrant.
Once they have the arrest warrant, they can arrest you in your home.
These are rights police don’t want you to know if you are getting arrested.
No, the police cannot bring you in for questioning without a warrant.
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects U.S. citizens from:
This includes getting brought in for questioning without a warrant.
Police can only get a warrant to bring you in for questioning if:
Whether you can record while being detained depends on the state that you live in.
In two-party states, it’s illegal to record someone without their permission.
In one-party states, it’s perfectly legal to record someone while being detained.
No, police cannot search your phone when they are arresting you.
The only way police can search your phone during an arrest is if they have an arrest warrant.
Without a warrant, you have protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.
This is a right the police don’t want you to know.
They will try to get you to consent to them searching your phone.
Yes, you can get detained without being told why by the police.
The U.S. Supreme Court gives officers this right over U.S. citizens.
They only need “reasonable suspicion” that criminal activity is happening to detain someone.
Yes, the police can charge you later if they let you go.
This happens if they are in the investigation phase.
They may need to gather more evidence before charging you with a crime.
Yes, police have to show you an arrest warrant.
And you have the right to see and read the arrest warrant before you’re arrested.
They can arrest you without showing you an arrest warrant.
But ONLY if they have probable cause to make an arrest.
Some examples of probable cause would be:
These are civil rights police don’t want you to know about.
Police can keep your phone for a few months for an investigation.
The complexity of the investigation really determines how long they will keep your phone.
Examples of more complex investigations are larger scale:
Police will take your phone for investigations into:
They are going to be looking for:
Generally, no, police cannot take your phone without permission.
They can request access to your phone, but you do not have to give them permission.
They can only take your phone without permission if:
No, a citizen cannot pull over a cop.
Only another law enforcement officer has the authority to pull over a cop.
Police cannot record you without permission in two-party consent states.
In one-party consent states, police can record you without permission.
It’s illegal for police to record you in an area where you have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
This includes places like your home or inside your place of work.
No, you cannot tell a police officer to “F off.”
This can lead to getting a misdemeanor, felony, fines, or jail time.
Telling a police officer to “F off” can either be:
The most common charges for these are misdemeanors for:
These charges could get upgraded to felonies depending on the situation.
No, it is not illegal to follow a police officer.
As long as it is done in a safe, legal, and respectful manner.
Yes, cops have to read you your Miranda rights.
The “Miranda warning” informs you of your legal rights like:
Evidence that police collect is not admissible to the courts if they don’t read you your rights.
Meaning the prosecution cannot use this evidence to prove your guilt.
This is true even if cops have a warrant against you.
The Miranda warning is based on the 1966 U.S. Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona.
This article is not legal advice.
If you believe your rights have been violated, fill out the form on this page.
Our law firm has experience protecting the rights of U.S. citizens against police.
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