Arrests by the police: what to do and what to look out for!

Even if you are a law-abiding citizen, this article will be useful to you. Detention is one of the most common forms of human rights abuse. A person is considered to be detained when they are forced, either by force or by compliance with an order, to remain in the presence of an authorised official or to stay in a specific premises.

No one is immune to unlawful detention. Public trust in law enforcement agencies remains very low. The internet is full of various videos and information about citizens being detained by police officers, where law enforcement officials act outside the bounds of the law.

Those detained are generally unaware of their rights and obligations, and act emotionally and recklessly, which leads to further breaches of the law, significantly worsening their situation.

If you are detained by police officers, you need to know your rights, how to exercise them and how to act. This knowledge will help you avoid unnecessary problems and defend your rights.

In this article, we will explain how to act and what you need to pay attention to when detained by police officers.

When detained, you should remain calm and composed. Under no circumstances should you behave aggressively towards police officers or resist arrest, as this constitutes a breach of the law and provides grounds for the police to use coercive measures.

Request a lawyer and do not make any statements until they arrive. Giving a statement is your right, not an obligation.

Request that close relatives or any other person of your choice be notified of your detention. Remember, all your actions and statements can and will be used against you in court.

Above all, when engaging with police officers, demand that they, in accordance with Article 18 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On the National Police’, introduce themselves and present their service identification, which you have the right to record using technical means. Try to video-record the events taking place. If it is not possible to film the incident openly, try to secretly switch on a video camera or voice recorder and record everything continuously. To preserve the information, upload the recorded files to a cloud service, as the device itself may be seized. Be sure to record the start of the incident, noting the date and exact time – hour and minute.

Important to know:

In the event of detention on suspicion of committing a crime, the period of detention without a warrant from an investigating judge or a court may not exceed seventy-two hours from the time of actual detention. If, within this period, there is no reasoned court decision on the detention, the person must be released immediately. Furthermore, within this period, within 24 hours, the person must be served with a notice of suspicion, and within sixty hours, the person must be brought before a court for consideration of a motion to impose a preventive measure on them.

Administrative detention may not exceed three hours. Only in exceptional cases involving a breach of border regulations or the trafficking of narcotic drugs may you be detained for up to three days. Furthermore, if you commit a minor act of hooliganism, wilfully disobey a law enforcement officer, insult a law enforcement officer, or publicly call for non-compliance with their orders, you may be detained until the case is heard by the court.

In all other cases, you must be released immediately after your identity has been established and a report has been drawn up, but in any event no later than three hours after detention.

Ask the police officers for the grounds for your detention.

Under Part 4 of Article 208 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine, the authorised officer who has detained a person must immediately inform the detainee, in a language they understand, of the grounds for the detention and the offence of which they are suspected, as well as explain their right to have a defence lawyer, to receive medical assistance, to provide explanations or testimony, or to remain silent regarding the allegations against them, to immediately inform other persons of their detention and whereabouts in accordance with the provisions of Article 213 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine, to request a review of the validity of the detention, and other procedural rights provided for by law.

In accordance with Article 59 of the Constitution of Ukraine, you have the right to legal assistance. In cases provided for by law, this assistance is provided free of charge. You may think you know the law and can apply it correctly, but in practice things are not as they seem – the assistance of an experienced lawyer will be to your advantage.

Police officers usually explain that the situation is straightforward and does not require the involvement of a lawyer. In most cases, whilst in a state of shock, the detainee agrees with them – waiving their legal rights.

You may waive the right to legal representation at any time, so it is better to engage an experienced lawyer and exercise your right to remain silent, as provided for in Article 18 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Article 63 of the Constitution of Ukraine, until they arrive.

Where possible, draw the attention of witnesses who can help document any unlawful actions by law enforcement officers.

If you have sustained physical injuries during your arrest or are experiencing health problems, you should inform the police officers that you need to call an ambulance or a doctor to record this fact.

When a person suspected of committing a crime is detained, a report is drawn up specifying: the place, date and exact time (hour and minutes) of the detention; the grounds for detention; the results of a personal search; any requests, statements or complaints made by the detainee, if any; and a full list of the detainee’s procedural rights and obligations. The detention report is signed by the person who drew it up and by the detainee. A copy of the report is immediately handed to the detainee against signature and also sent to the prosecutor.

Check the report carefully! Your decision not to sign any reports may be a mistake. If you refuse to sign it, a police officer, in the presence of two witnesses, will note your refusal in the report. However, the content of the report may not correspond to the truth, which the witnesses may fail to notice. In this case, it will be very difficult to prove anything afterwards.

When reviewing the report, the first thing you need to check is the date and time of the actual arrest. Check that the time and date stated are accurate.

The second thing to check is the section listing the witnesses. Check whether the people named in that section were actually present during the arrest.

During an arrest for a criminal offence, police officers are entitled to carry out a personal search of the arrested person, which must be conducted in the presence of two witnesses of the same sex as the arrested person. However, if the investigator has made a mistake and a person of the opposite sex is present during the personal search, you should NOT correct this or point out the error. The main thing is that this is recorded in the report. This is because, if a body search is carried out with the participation of witnesses of the opposite sex and this is recorded in the report, you will have additional grounds for challenging the legality of such a detention. Do not attempt to point out the investigator’s other errors in the procedural documentation of your detention; instead, focus your attention on ensuring that this is recorded in the report. You can use all these errors later to defend your rights.

Thirdly, and no less importantly, you must pay attention to the section listing the property seized from you. Check that the list does not include items that were not actually seized from you. If nothing has been seized from you, this must be noted in the report. If items have been seized, check that an accurate list is provided with a detailed description. If a mobile phone is seized, state that the phone contains correspondence with your lawyer, which will make it difficult for the police to extract information from the phone.

If you notice items in your pocket, bag or anywhere else that do not belong to you, do not touch them under any circumstances! Ensure that, after they have been seized in the presence of two witnesses, fingerprints are taken from them. This will be necessary for forensic analysis and to confirm that you have no connection to the seized items.

The fourth thing you need to do is check and fill in the section for requests and comments. In most cases, nobody fills in this section or makes any requests. When completing the report, it is best to state straight away that you wish to review the case materials with the option to make copies (photocopies), which will give you and your solicitor the opportunity to gather the best evidence for your defence. List any witnesses who are present and able to give evidence in your favour. Also, note down any observations you made during the arrest, for example: physical injuries sustained and the need to call an ambulance, failure to explain your rights and obligations, or any other violations.

Before signing the arrest report, cross out all blank spaces to prevent anything being added that was not present at the time of your arrest.

Also, do not forget to request a copy of the completed report and a leaflet on your procedural rights and obligations, which you must be provided with.

We hope you found this article useful.