3 Things To Know About Being Arrested
While no one ever wants to get arrested and deal with the justice system, there may come a time in your life when you find yourself in trouble with the law. If and when this happens, it’s wise to know a bit about the process of being arrested and what may happen to you after this occurs.
To help ensure that you’re as prepared for this event as possible, here are three things to know about being arrested.
Preparing For An Arrest
If you’re properly prepared for being arrested, the process can go much more smoothly for you. So if you know that you’re going to be somewhere or doing something where the chances of you getting arrested are higher, like going to a protest, it can be helpful to think about what you’d want and need in the event of an arrest.
Ideally, you should try to have two forms of identification on you so that you can be booked speedily. It can also be helpful for you to memorize the phone number of someone important to you that you’d want to contact in the event of your arrest. This could be someone like a significant other, friend, family member, or even a lawyer if you already have one. And to make these calls, you’ll want to have some quarters so that you can pay for the calls, since you’ll have your phone taken from you when you’re booked by the police.
Don’t Do Or Say Anything Without A Lawyer Present
When dealing with the police either before or after you’re arrested, it’s wise not to say anything or answer any questions until you have a lawyer present with you. This will help you to not incriminate yourself or get yourself into more trouble with the answers that you provide.
If you already have a lawyer, you should wait for them to be present with you before speaking with police. If you don’t have a lawyer, legal representation will be assigned to you for free so that you’re able to adequately defend yourself against whatever charges will be forthcoming after your arrest.
Learn Some Of The Lingo
Being arrested can be a scary and confusing time, especially if you’ve never had to deal with the legal system in this way before. So to help you understand a bit more of what’s going on, it can be helpful to learn some of the lingo around being arrested and charged with a crime.
Knowing what it means to be booked, what an arraignment is, how bail or bond works, and what some of your rights are can help you get your footing through this process, so do a bit of research about these things or ask your lawyer what you need to know about being arrested at this point.
If you don’t know what happens when you get arrested and want to be prepared in the event that this happens to you, consider using the information mentioned above to give you a good jumping-off point.
