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once again you are missing the point here. yes if the person is part of the crime, either as a witness, criminal, or victim, then by all means give up your information. if no a part of the crime though, then there is no need to give up your information.
No, it seems you are the one missing the point. The OP's wife was the witness to a crime. A police officer didn't just randomly come up to him and demand his wife's name and DOB. He went to the police and told them she witnessed a crime. As other's have said, the police are not going to just put down "some guy's wife witnessed the crime." They're going to want information so they can later get in contact with the wife if they need to.
I haven't made the lifestyle choices which have made it necessary for me to be dealing with the police.
So it's not an issue.
You don't have to be a criminal to deal with the police. My mother has been pulled over by the police a few times without having done anything illegal. It's happened to my father as well.
And all you are required to do is state you name. You are not required to provide ID unless arrested.
Cooperating in a criminal investigation to the point of providing name, address and phone number is a reasonable accommodation to the society.
And note there may well be cases where even that is not required. The court allowed for the possibility that being forced to state your name could be a 5th amendment violation/
Many here have no clue what they're talking about. You DO NOT have to identify yourself just because a cop asks for your ID. Absent reasonable suspicion you have or were about to commit a crime (or driving a vehicle or any other scenario where you need a legally issued certificate to prove validity....boat, motorcycle, carrying a firearm, etc) you are not required to produce or show (or even CARRY) any identification. People are way too quick to surrender their personal protections & rights.
And that reasonable suspicion has to be well defined and justified...a cop can't just say "you seem suspicious...gimme your ID!". It has to be specific & definable reason(s) WHY you are suspected, not just because a cop in his personal opinion feels you are or that you "must respect my autoriTAY!!"
Some of you would do well to Google "first amendment audit" "police 1st amendment abuse" and similar videos to see just how restricted cops wind up being when they push their "nosy-ness" beyond clearly defined rules of search and seizure. And a cop detaining you from going on your way to check you out (with no valid legal reason or suspicion) is, in fact, illegally detaining you and violating your legal rights as well as your civil rights.
Listen, I'm all for safety and proactive policing....but it's a balancing act that needs to be controlled so cops don't go overboard abusing their authority....saying cops should be able to detain, interrogate or force people to provide ID is a fast & slippery slope to a police state.
About two months ago, I arrived at work at 4 AM and a patroller was up the hill. The officer saw me and proceeded in my direction. I dug my company ID out of my neck wallet and by the time he had reached me, I was holding my ID up next to my face and greeted him. He checked my ID, received my explanation why I was there, and thanked me for showing ID like that. We then went on our different ways.
One of the things about that encounter is that since I was digging my ID out of my neck wallet, my hands were clearly visible to him the entire time. On the other hand, I recall once YEARS ago when a deputy was responding to my mother's house alarm, my ID was in my jeans pocket and asked for permission before I reached for it.
SHRUG, I am use to producing ID, whether automatically or asked for it. From my time in the service, especially working in military ship yards and in intelligence. As one of my Captains said, you don't wait to be asked, you just produce it and show it up front for if you do wait to be asked......you get overrun by those behind you who do know to show their ID up front.
Should it not be like that? Hard to say for if it isn't, there are certainly those who will take advantage of such. It reminds me of in the 80s when those of decades before were shocked that they could not drive on to a naval base just to look around, go down to the docks to see America's might. As my senior chief pointed out, it was that kind of openness that got us the Walkers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Anthony_Walker .
Similar thing here. Given what bad people know now, does one really want to be totally trusting of everyone? Never mind about spies, just think about in terms of human trafficking as one example.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WaldoKitty
I haven't made the lifestyle choices which have made it necessary for me to be dealing with the police.
So it's not an issue.
Good Point!
It is a good point for one of the things that the police will ask in an encounter is where one is going. Hence, I make it a style of behavior to always to be able to say where I am going if asked, even if I am going nowhere such as just a drive in the country.... or see one of my lovers, and not to have to struggle for answers.
Last edited by TamaraSavannah; 09-21-2018 at 04:26 AM..
Those of us that value our freedom and autonomy are getting real tired of those who say, "If you haven't (insert any action being incrementally outlawed by our police state), then you wouldn't suffer punishment."
I always wondered when sitting in traffic or at lights if cops run your plate just for something to do.
Computerized plate readers do it automatically.
Checks for easy money tickets too like expired registrations.
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