What Not To Do When Arrested in BC?

When a person is arrested because the police think a crime has been done, there are things that the police must do and say. Many, many crimes are quickly solved because the person who is arrested for it says things that they should never have said. Persons who are arrested often think that they have to say things to the police to explain. They think they owe the police an explanation. They also think that if they answer questions the police will go easier with them because they are being helpful to the police. Nothing could be further from the truth. And most of all, many persons think that if they admit to the crime to the police their punishment will somehow be less.

As set above, in Canada a person is innocent until proven guilty. Because a person is innocent when arrested nothing needs to be said and nothing needs to be explained. No arrested person needs to co-operate with the police. And most of all no one should admit to a crime because that will help the police, who will likely not help you and admitting to a crime will not help you. The reason that admitting to a crime will not help you is that you are giving up many reasons why you may not be guilty of the crime because you do not know the reasons that may make you not guilty.

Before the police can ask you to explain anything at all the police have to tell you that you do not have to explain. If the police hold you, the police have to tell you that you can call a lawyer. Both of those statements should tell that you should not say anything and, if you are wanting to say something, that you should call a lawyer before you say anything. The only thing that you do have to say, is your name and address but more than that you do not have to say.

The reason you do not have to say anything is that you are innocent. You are innocent until a court finds you guilty. You do not know what makes you guilty. You do not know because you do not know what evidence the police have collected or are able to collect. Because you do not yet know what case is made against you, you cannot know what would be good to say and what would be bad to say.

Most persons do not know what is good to say or bad to say because they do not know what is a crime. In Canada a crime is three things. A crime is first an act. A crime is an act with results. And a crime is an act with results which you meant to bring about.

The part of the crime that is hardest to prove is the part that your act has results which you meant to bring about. That is difficult to prove because no person can read the mind of another person. The way that the prosecutor can most often prove what you meant to bring about is by what you said or what you say. A simple story to show this problem is the following. Suppose that you and your spouse get into an argument. The argument gets heated. In the heat of the argument things are picked up by both parties. Things that can be dangerous. Lets say, drinking glasses. Both parties are moving around and one party slips and lurches towards the other. On the way over, the glass in the hand strikes counter and it breaks. Still lurching toward the other one party holds the now broken glass and holds out the hand for support. That support is not there and the party holding the now broken glass falls towards and onto the other party with the now broken glass slashing into the other.

You will get from the story that there was an act, that is, a slashing, the act had results, that is, wounds. But what is not clear is; were the wounds intended? If you tell the police exactly what happened they will not believe you slipped. They may also say they looked and could find no reason for you to slip. Because you are no doubt upset you may say you slipped in such a way that it is not believable. If there was no slip, everyone will think that you got so angry you broke the glass on purpose and used the shattered edge of the glass to cause the wounds to your spouse. In the words used before; you acted, your act had results, you meant to bring about the results of your act. Clearly, the best thing to do is to say nothing.