Foo Posted December 7, 2011 IF the police ask to have a quiet word with you, it's OK to do a runner, a Supreme Court judge confirmed yesterday.Justice Stephen Kaye said that a man who bolted when police wanted to speak to him about an unpaid restaurant bill was entitled to make himself scarce, leaving the officers trailing in his wake. After the judge ruled, the man at the centre of the test case was in no doubt of its importance. "This decision does for Australian civil liberties what Mabo did for native title,'' Andrew Hamilton declared. The 25-year-old Sydneysider said he was so drunk he couldn't remember why he ran. But when he sobered up, he knew his rights. "At no point did they say I was under arrest,'' he said. "I hadn't committed a crime . . . I ran because I was just a drunken boor.'' More @ http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/its-ok-to-do-a-runner-judge/story-fn7x8me2-1226206685079 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qualia Posted December 7, 2011 nice one. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay last night said it was too early to act on the decision."We'll go through the judgment vary carefully, then we'll decide what we need to do,'' he said. read: "we're looking at ways we can close this loophole so we can detain persons for no apparent reason whenever we want to". 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted December 7, 2011 So just to get this straight. If I gorge myself at a restaurant and then do the harold, when the cops catch me all I have to do is fuck off again before they utter the words "you're under arrest" and it's all sweet ? What's wrong with this country ? It's cool to steal from a legit business and then run away from police but you can't decide what to grow in your own backyard even if it doesn't have any impact on anyone 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Distracted Posted December 7, 2011 That's amazing news! I've been 'detained' before by police even though I was not under arrest. Their excuse was because I was a 'person of interest' and they were 'conducting an investigation'. I said they could continue their investigation fine without me but they kept ordering me to stand there for ages. I guess now I can run away, have them catch me and now when i go to court i'll be set free... hmm doesn't sound very fun either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foo Posted December 7, 2011 So just to get this straight. If I gorge myself at a restaurant and then do the harold, when the cops catch me all I have to do is fuck off again before they utter the words "you're under arrest" and it's all sweet ? What's wrong with this country ? It's cool to steal from a legit business and then run away from police but you can't decide what to grow in your own backyard even if it doesn't have any impact on anyone Not sure if he actualy stole anything. But thats a seperate issue and if he did steal im sure he will still get fucked on for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thelema Posted December 7, 2011 ahh well "rights" are funny things. It may well be that the police also have a "right" to run after him. So the conclusion? If you're going to run, run like the clappers and escape. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slybacon Posted December 21, 2011 (edited) That's amazing news! I've been 'detained' before by police even though I was not under arrest. Their excuse was because I was a 'person of interest' and they were 'conducting an investigation'. I said they could continue their investigation fine without me but they kept ordering me to stand there for ages. I guess now I can run away, have them catch me and now when i go to court i'll be set free... hmm doesn't sound very fun either. In this situation , you can activate a payment schedule (or something like this , my understanding of this is a little unclear). Effectively this enacts that you are going to start charging them for your time, at which point they need to decide wether or not your worth detaining, as they will likely have to pay for it if the court case is won in your favor. They more cases that get pulled off , they more investigative work the police will have to do before detaining anybody. We should make the do their jobs properly, not forcefully. It was once the "police Service" now "Police Force" Go figure, things are changing tho and cases like this are becomming more normal. As for the charge for not paying at the restaurant. Yes this is shit, but the cops could of followed their jobs more properly and he would have had to pay "the Restaurant " not the cops fo the meal plus some damages. Now he got away with it cause he was not placed under arrest by following the due course of justice. Edited December 21, 2011 by Slybacon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foo Posted December 22, 2011 Police nowdays avoid arrests like the plauge. Unless your a danger or you have a warrent for arrest out, the Police will almost always try to summons you to court. Saves time, money and liability. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Distracted Posted December 22, 2011 (edited) They like to threaten you with being arrested though even if there are no grounds for doing so. I wonder if this could work as a catch 22. You've done something wrong but the officer hasn't 'arrested you' yet so you can run. He can't 'arrest you' if he can't catch you and you can keep running because you're not 'under arrest', Could this work with cars too? Could you get a judge to agree that disobeying a police directive is utter bullshit? Really what we need are rich pioneers to get arrested for petty crimes then take the government to court and set precedents. If you want to work within the system to change the system you have to have money. I'm trying to go through acts now to find which offense it is to disobey police but so far i've only found A person shall not, without reasonable excuse (proof of which lies on the person), wilfully prevent, in any manner, the free passage of a person, vehicle or vessel in a public place. It doesn't help that everytime I look for laws I get a different state. I'm no good at this Edited December 22, 2011 by Distracted 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
