Interacting with police officers can be an unsettling experience for the bravest of us. A lot of the time, the only interaction we have with the police is when they are pulling us over to hand us a ticket for speeding. However, sometimes that interaction gets even more unnerving and escalates into an arrest—what do you do then? If the police have detained you and you suspect they are going to arrest you, you should first ask mildly and politely whether you are under arrest. In essence, you do not want the police to perceive hostility in you, which inadvertently provokes police hostility toward you. If the police arrest you, you are entitled to certain constitutional rights that must be regarded by the police. Firstly, you have the right to be informed promptly about why you are being arrested. Usually, the police will tell you why. But if they don’t, you can ask...

You may have wondered on occasion about when the police are authorized to arrest someone. I bet, for example, when you see activist movements like Black Lives Matter in the United States protesting against police brutality and high-handedness, your mind has been drawn to the topic. I want to provide you with a very brief synopsis of the law as an education. Maybe it will be an elective education because you’re naturally interested in the topic, or perhaps it’s compulsory because you have been arrested or someone you know has been arrested. You will want to know whether the police acted appropriately. Let me walk you through it. First of all, the police have complete authority to arrest you if they have a warrant. A warrant is a formal order the police receive from a Judge or Justice of the Peace, which authorizes them to arrest you. There are a variety of reasons...