- Jurisdiction
- Australia
In Australia, under common law rights people have the right to remain silent.
Also in common law, any part of any ACT which contradicts any part of common law is considered as void.
So when they make an ACT requiring me to provide police my name and address when they ask me, why do police act like armageddon has struck whenever I don't give them my details - even though I've done nothing wrong?
Also, if I have the right to remain silent, that doesn't mean I need to say "I have the right to remain silent" because my right is silence, so I don't need to say anything.
For some reason, everyone I talk to says "if you've done nothing wrong you have nothing to hide", why do people say this? The fact is you can still do nothing wrong, you can still have nothing to hide but that doesn't mean you have to articulate that to the police.
Let's say for example, you're on your way to work on a schedule walking along in public and a man runs up to you and says "You stole $100 from me".
Do YOU then have to stop, forget your schedule, be late for work and prove that you didn't take their money? Or is it their job to prove that you stole it from them?
With the police, if they accuse me of doing something wrong, is it then my job to stop and waste my time to prove my innocence? The answer is no, you are innocent until proven guilty.
So my question is, it's my right to remain silent, how do I clarify that to police and make them leave me alone faster? (or do I have to take the warm&fuzzy approach and talk to them and try to convince them I'm not a threat)
Also in common law, any part of any ACT which contradicts any part of common law is considered as void.
So when they make an ACT requiring me to provide police my name and address when they ask me, why do police act like armageddon has struck whenever I don't give them my details - even though I've done nothing wrong?
Also, if I have the right to remain silent, that doesn't mean I need to say "I have the right to remain silent" because my right is silence, so I don't need to say anything.
For some reason, everyone I talk to says "if you've done nothing wrong you have nothing to hide", why do people say this? The fact is you can still do nothing wrong, you can still have nothing to hide but that doesn't mean you have to articulate that to the police.
Let's say for example, you're on your way to work on a schedule walking along in public and a man runs up to you and says "You stole $100 from me".
Do YOU then have to stop, forget your schedule, be late for work and prove that you didn't take their money? Or is it their job to prove that you stole it from them?
With the police, if they accuse me of doing something wrong, is it then my job to stop and waste my time to prove my innocence? The answer is no, you are innocent until proven guilty.
So my question is, it's my right to remain silent, how do I clarify that to police and make them leave me alone faster? (or do I have to take the warm&fuzzy approach and talk to them and try to convince them I'm not a threat)
