Winterborn
Well I can give you some advice, but know that I'm no legal professional, and what I know is learnt mostly from reading up on legal advice online and in publications, as well as legislation and stuff like that. Take my advice with a grain of salt, and confirm it for yourself and with relevance to your state/territory before relying on it in practice or in a police encounter. The advice below is adapted from my understanding of NSW legislation.
Let me offer everyone my first piece of advice (I'm hoping that advice such as this is not inappropriate....but anyway) - carry any illicit drugs that you have on your person INSIDE your underwear. That way, if you are overly intimidated by police, you may (but shouldn't!) submit to/or be forced to accept a search of your person (i.e. pockets, wallet, casual frisk) and the police will not find your gear - intrusive searches, like strip searches, require actions and circumstances that greatly differ from those of casual street stop searches. For instance, they must be conducted behind closed doors at a police station and by an appropriate officer - and most importantly, I think they may only be conducted AFTER an arrest has occurred, especially since you are not obliged to (and should not) accompany a police officer anywhere unless he expressly informs you that you are under arrest and are to be taken back to a police station.
If you do this, try to make sure that you aren't carrying a large amount of drugs, because if an officer decides to be extra thorough and grab around your nuts (or whatever genitals you house in your underwear) and happens to feel a huge bulge, he will ask you to produce it and you are obliged to do so (it all might sound pretty exciting to some folks, but recall what context this is happening in...). It is unlikely that an officer would grope your nads, but be on the safe side and only carry small amounts of prohibited drugs stashed there and you have a very very low chance of getting caught AS LONG AS YOU CAN STAY CALM and not let them do anything that you think they are not allowed to.....and do not volunteer to go anywhere with them, or to drop your pants and dance for them.....
Remember, you haven't killed or hurt anyone (hopefully), you have a few pills or some powder or buds, and you want to live the only life you are ever going to get the way you want to live it. There are people in uniforms out there who are willing to fuck you over without giving much consideration to the hypocrisy and futility of prohibitive and criminal legislation that they must enforce. They are not robots, they are human beings, and although they will justify fucking you over by accusing you of doing something illegal (as will other people), you should feel morally confident in your decision to object against unfair laws by engaging in a form of civil disobedience. What I'm saying is don't feel guilty about hiding things in your undies and getting away with it..... read on:
So, read my previous posts if you want to understand laws regarding searches and arm yourself with that knowledge so that you can reduce the risk of having drugs found on you. Prevention beats cure, but let's have a quick look at what your options are if you do get nabbed with, say, 2grams of bud.
In NSW, the officer decides whether they will issue you with a caution for cannabis possession, or (I'm presuming) if they'd rather issue you with a court summons where you will face a charge of Possess Prohibited Substance or something along those lines.... A caution will involve accompanying the police officer to the station so that you may sign the formal caution document; if you refuse you will be arrested and charged I guess... Also, I'm sure police throughout the state do other things too, and you can definitely believe that there are great cops out there who will just make you trash the bud in front of them and let you go with a warning. Such cops are probably few and far between, but I'm sure they exist, and big ups to them. (Note: in NSW I'm pretty sure that the caution system exists only with cannabis offences; 'harder' drugs might attract a mandatory summons; Read up on this....)
This (officer discretion) is incentive to be respectful and courteous to the police officer, in the hope that you just get slapped a caution or less, then go home after half an hour and pack up a big party cone of some other gear to celebrate the fact that you don't live in New York or Thailand. HOWEVER, being respectful and courteous does not mean that you have to answer questions that will incriminate you further.....be careful, and remember that the cops are not your buddies; be friendly, but also keep your guard up and don't talk shit - just tell them what you are obliged to, and if you want to answer their other questions take your time and ensure that you do not incriminate yourself or anyone else. E.g.
Cop: "Where did you get the yarnhdi sonny jim?"
You: "I found it at Bonzo Park/Coles carpark/in a cafe sir, I don't usually smoke drugs/narcotics/pot etc." <--- Dead end answer, they can't ask you about who the dealer was etc.
Cop: "You sure mate? You lying to me punkface? I oughta club you to death you junkie dope fiend...."
The third line is unlikely....but here is my point: you can still be nice, friendly, and co-operative, but RESIST any pressure that they put on you in an attempt to extract answers that will fuck you up. As long as you think, try to be calm, and give short direct answers to questions, they can cry all they want that they don't believe you, but just maintain that you are telling the truth.
But this is the issue - if you know your rights, and the search was conducted unlawfully, then the evidence uncovered in the above case would probably be inadmissible in court. In such a case, if you had big brass nuts (balls of steel as MaDMAn_Project says), you could refuse signing a cannabis caution, and take the matter to court on a summons, where you would be obliged to argue that the police prosecutor doesn't have a case because the evidence of 2g of pot should be rejected as per the Evidence Act (see previous post).
What a hassle huh? Fuck going through all that hassle man, WHO NEEDS CIVIL LIBERTIES ANYWAY! IT'S ONLY OUR FREEDOM TO LIVE HARASSMENT-FREE THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HERE! We don't need a fair justice system! In fact, if we are going to put up with unlawful searches, why don't we change the NSW Police Force name to the NSW Gestapo! 8(
But I can relate: it is a massive hassle, you need time, and money (even if you win??), and brass nuts, and it's hard to plan out this grand idea of standing up to oppression with a 3m tall cop dipping his hands in your pockets..... Although you should always think of how you would feel sitting in a court room when the judge read out "All charges dismissed, the evidence is inadmissible".... You could then rise up, high five the judge, breakdance on the courtroom floor, throw the case documents at the police prosecutor, and bust out of court like a champion..... The fact of the matter is, many people don't want any hassle, usually because they don't even know a search was unlawful because they don't understand what authority police are and aren't given by the law, and so police will continue to infringe on everyone's rights in the hope of scoring a bag of weed or pills.
All in all, I can't tell you exactly what to do. That is your decision, and you should take all things into account when you make your choice - i.e. what the cop is like, how far you are willing to take things, whether or not the search was lawful, how important not getting a caution/charge is to you, how much you like your freedom, how strongly you believe in your right to partake in recreational enjoyment of chemicals etc. Here are some more sound tips to use as a general guideline so that you hopefully don't shit your pants next time you see that heart-wrenching police car pull up to you (it always makes me feel nervous and criminal, even if I have done absolutely nothing against the law).
-- You are not obliged to answer ANY police questions except to issue them with your true name and address (traffic stop rules differ). There are circumstances where you aren't even obliged to tell them that, research more if you want to know. Say something polite and firm, like "I don't think it is wise for me to answer any questions without someone who knows more law stuff around Sir, I won't say anything more after this. I would like to go if you do not need me any longer." or "If you have no reason to arrest me, I will immediately resume on my journey through life [you Dark Lord of hassling people for jack shit, leave me alone arsehole]"
-- You are not obliged to go anywhere with police unless you are placed under arrest. Police may not detain you against your will without placing you under arrest. They must have a real reason to arrest you, and must inform you of that reason, so always ask. Wrongful/unnecessary arrest is not smiled upon by police higher command or the courts (see Mr Ping court case below), remember this if you decide to call an officer's bluff of threatening to arrest you for not co-operating with demands that you feel are unreasonable (e.g. not submitting to an unlawful search).
-- This post is too mammoth, if you need more advice, contact your local Community Legal Centre for free and expert advice and legal aid. There are also some 24hour legal advice hotlines run by such institutions - you should call them for advice BEFORE talking to police if you get the chance. Be thankful that we live in a country with people who are kind enough to donate their time and effort to educate and help people, including those who society might view as 'scum' because they are poor/suffering from drug addiction or are victims of abuse etc, because all of us deserve to be fairly treated by the police and the legal system. Let the people giving out such advice on the phone and in legal aid centres know that you really appreciate their work.
-- Also, know that you may complain about unfair treatment at the hands of police. Direct your complaints to the Police Ombudsman in your State/Territory, or to the Civil Liberties Council in your State - Civil Liberties people are champions too, if you ever seek help from them, remember to be appreciative of and thankful for their social presence.
-- Use Google to search for legal aid, advice, Ombudsmen, Civil Liberties groups, and legislation pertaining to your state.
Links:
NSW Legal Aid Hotline for Under 18s
--- This is for Under 18s (different laws regarding police encounters) - there are other numbers available for adults in NSW, find those numbers if you are over 18 and need advice.
Legal Aid - Western Australia (Hotline Included)
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
. Police frequently use the excuse that a crime occurred in the area not too long before they stumbled upon you, and so you are to be subjected to a search. That, along with other factors, may be considered reasonable cause, and therein lies the problem.... because often they may be full of shit. But then I guess restrictions are placed on how thorough their search may be, what kind of crime it was etc, and ultimately if it went to the courts one could investigate whether or not any incident had actually occurred in the area prior to your detainment. Or they could just say that you reeked like gunja....that is the big problem with reasonable suspicion....what VelocideX said in the second post of this thread is the case much of the time, and that is why many cops feel comfortable to act on their own unreasonable judgements.
” and the charge of refusing to submit to the search was still not upheld. This case exemplifies the difference between police as law enforcers, and courts as places of justice where legislation is taken seriously. I sincerely doubt that EVEN IF they had found a knife, that it would have been admissible as evidence. Anything short of a bazooka or dynamite vest wouldn't have been upheld as lawful evidence.....