2. GIVING YOUR DETAILS
General
Other than under road traffic legislation, you do not commit an offence in
English law by refusing to give your name and address to the police. However
there are certain situations where the police may arrest you if they cannot
establish your name and address, and if you are arrested and charged with
an offence you will be unlikely to be granted bail unless they can establish
these details.
Prior to Arrest
The general rule to remember is that you never have to give your name and
address to the police prior to arrest, subject to the following 2 exceptions:
- where you are the driver of a vehicle
- where the police reasonably suspect you of a non-arrestable offence, and
require your name and address for the service of a summons (Section 25 Police
and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE)).
If the police say that they require your name and address under Section 25
PACE, they need to have reason to suspect you of committing, or having committed
a non-arrestable and therefore fairly minor offence – eg aggravated trespass
or threatening behaviour. This situation may arise when you are the passenger
in a vehicle on the way to a demo. If the police demand your details in these
circumstances, ask them what reasonable suspicion they have that you are committing
/ have committed a non-arrestable offence. They don’t have to tell you,
but if they have no genuine suspicion then they will usually back down. If
you refuse to give your details the police may say that they find this suspicious
and that someone with nothing to hide would give their details. This is an
age-old ploy by the police and a fairly reliable indicator that they have
no genuine suspicion. Also if they suspect you of burglary or criminal damage,
both “arrestable offences”, there is no power to take your details
under Section 25 (PACE).
After Arrest
After arrest you still have the right to remain silent, but failure to give
a name and address will mean that you will probably not be given bail if you
are charged. If you are not charged with an offence then the police have to
let you go, even if they don’t have your name and address. The point
to remember is that you do not commit an offence in these circumstances by
refusing to give your name and address. There is no offence, for example,
of obstructing the police in their line of duty – if the police try and
tell you otherwise they are bluffing. There may well be very good reasons
for you to delay giving your details to the police – eg. in order to
give someone time to get to your house before it is raided.
If you give false details at any stage you could be liable for obstructing
a police officer in his line of duty or even, more seriously, for perverting
the course of justice.
Giving Your Date of Birth
Except where you are the driver of a vehicle, you never have to give your
date of birth and you cannot be arrested or detained for refusal to do so.
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