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giving police a statement
sorry didn't know what catagory to put this under but ..
if the police ask for my statement about something that happened, it has nothing to do with me and i was not there. do i have to give it to them?
they just want to know what i know about the situation but i do not want to give them a statement. help please? thanks. :)
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Maybe give some free advice about: Activism?
"I don't know, I wasn't there" is a perfectly acceptable statement to give police.
Expanding on the above, if you weren't direct witness to something they can't use your witness for anything. All you have to do is say that you were not there and did not witness any events that happened. On those grounds, you can legally answer "I don't know" and you are telling the truth, because you were not a witness and so you do not have any first hand knowledge of what happened. Anything you know is legally hearsay and cannot be admitted into a court of law anyway.
That IS your legal statement. You were not witness so you can bear no witness.
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I find that I am a great deal older than most of the advisers on this site, so my advice will be somewhat different from what you have received and may continue to receive from others.
The short answer to your question is no you do not have to give a statement o the police if you do not want to. All statements to police must be given voluntarily without any coercion on the part of the police, even if under arrest.
If not under arrest you do not have the rights a criminal has; I speaking of the Miranda rights. If you are under a certain age, which does vary somewhat from state to state, you do have the right to have a parent or guardian with you when talking with the police. I would suggest that before you make any decision regarding giving a statement you talk with your parents. Ask your parents to go with you to the police station to speak with the officers wanting your statement. After your parents have discussed the situation with the police and decide you should give the police a statement then do so. If your parents decide you should not then do not give any statement and go home with your parents. Your parents will then decide if you need to speak with or retain a lawyer.
Since you have not said why the police want a statement from you that is the best advice I can give you. The police ask for statements from people for a number of reasons. Most of the time it is because you have witnessed a crime and your statement will help convict the perpetrator. Some of the other reasons range from being involved in an accident to witnessing one, someone you know is being investigated and is using you as an alibi witness and last but not least the person being asked for the statement is suspected of a crime.
If you are under age talk to your parents before you do anything else, they need to know about this and why the police are interested in a statement from you. Trust me on this, no matter what you decide as far as giving a statement, whatever this involves and your involvement if any will not remain hidden from your parents. It will be better if they hear about whatever this is from you.
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It only makes sense to answer this question with a "no". You do have the right to remain silent. You don't have to tell the police anything but your name. Anything you might say could be used as evidence against you. You also have the right to speak to a lawyer.
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