Youth at the police station

• What happens at the police station?
• Can I call a lawyer when I get to the police station?
• How do I find a lawyer?
• Can the police photograph me and take my fingerprints?
• Can the police search me?
• When can I leave the police station?
• What can I do if I feel my rights were denied me or that I was improperly treated?
• Where can I get more information?

Q - What happens at the police station?

If you are taken to the police station because the police suspect that you have broken the law. You have rights!

You can refuse to talk to the police.

You can call a lawyer and your parent(s) or an adult friend.

You can have a lawyer and your parent or adult friend with you if you decide to tell the police what happened. This is called giving a statement.

You can give your statement to the police and not talk to a lawyer. If you do this, you will have to sign a form saying that you did not want a lawyer present. It is not a good idea to do this without speaking to a lawyer first.

If the police have not already told you, ask them if you are under arrest, and, for what offence. The police may try to question you but you do not have to say anything. You should talk to a lawyer before you give a statement to the police. The police will help you contact a lawyer.The lawyer may speak to you over the phone or come to the police station and will tell you what to do to protect your legal rights.

The police will call your parents.

The police are first in line to decide what legal action should be taken against you. The police can do any of the following:

• Take no further action
• Give a verbal warning
• Give a formal caution – this is a letter that warns you to stay out of trouble
• Send you to a program, like Restorative Justice
• Charge you with an offence and either give you a paper called an ‘appearance notice’ or ‘summary offence information’ or hold you in custody until they can bring you before a judge; the notice will tell you when you have to be in court. In any case, if charged, you must obey the instructions given or you may be charged again for not doing so.

A lawyer is the best person to talk to about what legal action the police are likely to take.

Q - Can I call a lawyer when I get to the police station?

Yes. You have the right to a lawyer. Use it! The police will help you contact a lawyer and give you time to talk privately. The lawyer will tell you what you need to do. The police should let you keep trying until you reach a lawyer.

Q - How do I find a lawyer?

Nova Scotia Legal Aid is available 24 hours a day. The police will either give you the Legal Aid number or call it for you, or give you a list of lawyers and their telephone numbers. You can ask your parents, or an adult friend to get you a lawyer. You can also look in the yellow pages of the telephone book under the heading Lawyers. Look for a lawyer who does criminal law.

Q - Can the police photograph me and take my fingerprints?

Yes. If you are arrested and charged, you can be fingerprinted and photographed. Your lawyer can tell you what type of offence you’ve been charged with.You will probably be given a notice telling you whereto go to have it done. If you do not show up, you are breaking another law and you may be charged.

If the charges against you are dropped or you are found not guilty, you can ask the police to remove your photograph and fingerprints from the police files.

If your photo is in the police files it can be shown during criminal investigations.

Q - Can the police search me?

Yes. If you are arrested, you can be handcuffed and searched. The police do this to remove anything that can harm you or someone else. If you have not been arrested, the police can only search you for the following reasons:

• If the police have reasonable belief that you are carrying a weapon, or illegal drugs
• If you are under 19 and the police believe that you have liquor in your possession
• If the police have a valid search warrant
• If you agree to a search
• If you do not agree, calmly say that you do not agree to be searched. Silence could be seen as an O.K. to search.

Q - When can I leave the police station?

Depending on the situation, you may be allowed to go home or you may be held at the police station. If it was a non-violent and first offence, you likely will not have to stay at the police station. If you are charged with assaulting someone, the police may give you conditions that you have to follow before they will allow you to leave. This is called ‘an undertaking to release.’ If you break the conditions, the police can arrest you.

If the police feel that you are a danger to the public or that you might not show up for your court date, the police may hold you until they can bring you before a judge. If a judge decides that you should be detained, he must first find out if there is a responsible adult who is available and willing to take care of you instead of putting you in pre-trial detention. If the judge can find a ‘responsible person’ you can be released. You have the final say in whether or not you want to be in this person’s care but, if you decide you don’t want to be in this person’s care, you may be kept in custody until your trial.

If the police don’t release you, they must tell your parents where you are.

Q - What can I do if I feel my rights were denied me or that I was improperly treated?

Talk to a lawyer. You may decide to make a formal complaint, lay charges or sue the police department for damages.

Write down the facts of what happened. Write down the name, badge number, and patrol car number of the police officers that were involved. Ask witnesses for their names and contact information. If you have been hurt, go to the hospital immediately. Ask the doctor to send a report to your family doctor. Take photographs of any injuries.

If you feel that you were discriminated against because of your race, color, religion, ethnicity, or gender, you can contact the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. They can tell you how to make a human rights complaint. If you want to make a complaint about the police you should call the Nova Scotia Police Complaints Commissioner at 902-424-3246.

Q - Where can I get more information?

• Federal Department of Justice - Youth Justice http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/yj-jj/
• Restorative Justice Nova Scotia http://www.gov.ns.ca/just/rj/
• Youth Ombudsman http://www.gov.ns.ca/ombu/youth.htm
• Nova Scotia Legal Aid http://www.nslegalaid.ca/

This information was developed with funding from the Department of Justice Canada Youth Justice Renewal Fund.