What to do (and not to do) when a policeman knocks on your door

Our home is the center of our lives. They mean a calm place, a safe place, and one place in our lives where our privacy reigns supremely.We rest there, play there, and I work there more and more.MeIt is imperative that our home feel safe.

That tranquility and peace of mind is why the experience of having the police knock your door is so devastating. Most people are a little confused about where their rights end and where police authorities start. The worst time to figure it out is when a few impatient cops are at your doorstep. Like a traffic stop, Your mind goes instantly to see if you did something wrong, and you worry that somehow uncooperativeness may repel you.After all, we know what the police can do Lie to you pretty widelyAnd when they knock on your door, you only have a few seconds to process their presence and come up with a game plan.

So Come up with a game plan now.. Fortunately, this is easy. Because your rights and police restrictions are actually pretty clear. So what would you do if your day was interrupted by the police at your doorstep?

Know yOur rights

First of all, keep this in mind: you are not obliged to cooperate with the police.this is Anti-police Attitude — it’s Pro-civil rights attitude. The private property of this country is sacred.Warrant Keys-Whether it is a search warrant or what is known as Finney Warrant Empowering police to enter a house to arrest someone means that the police must obtain special permission to enter a private home. If the warrant is not valid, you are not obligated to give up its privacy.

However, the police have the right to approach your home and knock on your door. No The amount of private property signs on the lawn prevents you from doing so. They have to announce themselves, but again, You don’t have to respond, open the door, or do anything else. If the police have a warrant granting permission to enter your home, they will do so with or without your cooperation, so putting them in may be in your best interests, but It’s entirely up to you.

There are some exceptions that allow police to enter your home without a warrant:

• Probable cause. As with car searches, police can enter your home without a warrant if there is a reasonable reason for the police to believe that the crime is being committed.
• Emergency. Police enter your home without a warrant if you believe that someone is at risk of imminent harm, or that evidence may be destroyed to prevent arrest. I can. For example, if someone calls 9-1-1 from your home and the call goes down, the police have a reason to enter without your permission.Please note that this does not give the police the following rights: seek Once inside your home, you still need a warrant.
• Intense tracking. If police are chasing the suspect and they flee to your home, the police do not have to stop at the front door. This is a fairly narrow exception. Basically, this involves police witnessing the crime and tracking the suspect directly. They cannot appear after a few hours accusing you of containing a criminal. Again, this does not allow police to search your home while making an arrest.
• I agree. This is tricky. You can do so if someone with “real authority” allows access to the police. Consent must be voluntary (not enforced in any way) and InformedThat is, the police must make the person aware of the right to refuse. And the person who agrees must have the authority to do so. SNeighbors’ children wandering from the game room shouldn’t just nod to the police. That is, in general, you should be an adult resident of the house. Consent can be interpreted as applying to the search as well.

Conclusion: If the police appear at your door, you don’t need to cooperate. If they have a warrant, they will come anyway. If not, it’s entirely up to you to open the door, answer the questions, or interact with them in some way.

What should I do

So what’s the script when the police unexpectedly appear at your door? This is what you should do:

• Decide if you want to interact. You have no obligation to do so. You can choose not to respond in any way, or you can choose to communicate without opening the door. If you have a lawyer, consider calling a lawyer before doing anything.
• Ask them to reveal their identities. If you choose to respond, the first step is simply to ask who it is. MLet them identify themselves and tell you their purpose.
• Decide if you want to talk to the officer. Again, this is entirely up to you.In most cases it is wise to help the police (after all, we live in society), but don’t forget that everytime Depends on you. In your house You have a fair amount of discretion over how you spend your time. You can choose to open the door and talk to the police, invite inside, or go outside and close the back door to talk.
• Be polite and don’t resist. When the police ask you about something, respect is always in your best interests, for example noise complaints. And if you refuse an entry permit and the police do so anyway, don’t try to resist. At that point, it’s out of your reach — there’s a good reason for them to do so, or you’ll have the opportunity to seek relief later through the appropriate route.

Agreeing to talk to the police at your door does not mean agreeing to enter — and generally speaking You should always refuse police to enter your home.Again, this is not because you are secretly Manipulating a crime ring in your basement (are you?) Or because you hate the police. It’s just you Claim your rights as a citizen.

That said, in most cases Polite knocking on your door by police can be a benign situation where your cooperation as a citizen would be beneficial.Just remember your rights Talk to the police, The desire to be a good citizen does not waive your right to privacy.