Just got back from a recent trip and had my first run-in with the authorities. We were rather reckless now looking back but it was terrifying seeing the uniform when he stepped out of the truck. We were able to talk ourselves out of being arrested (he did threaten it). I was wondering if any more experienced explorers could give some advice on how to keep cool and better handle that situation! Much thanks!

I've always just been polite, honest, and apologetic to anyone I run into from law enforcement and I haven't been arrested yet. Respect goes a long way. I always keep in mind that these people put themselves in dangerous situations all the time, and that they don't know that I'm not a threat so if they have to give me a "hard time" so that they can be sure they're being safe then I don't mind.

I don't know if that's helpful or not, but it's simple and effective

Posted by Little Sister I've always just been polite, honest, and apologetic to anyone I run into from law enforcement and I haven't been arrested yet. Respect goes a long way.

Agreed. I favor honest and open once the jig is up. Bullshitting cops can add charges under certain circumstances.

I've dealt with law enforcement on several occasions now. Being cooperative goes a long way. Not always, but usually.

Cops in Korea are different, but I find it best to act rude and impatient with them and pretend you can't speak their language. A well-placed "I have things to do" usually results in them letting you go. The point is to not act guilty at all and make the cops think they're out of the loop.

This would probably get you shot in the US and arrested in Canada though, or tortured in Japan.

If you're in a car that gets pulled-over, the driver should have his ID/insurance/registration ready then both hands on near the top of the steering wheel. Have the driver's window about 1/3 down while waiting for the officer to make contact.
Don't open the doors/get out of the car unless told to.

Everyone else inside the car should have their hands empty & visible to an approaching officer, windows up, or just down 1/3 if deeply tinted, and be ready to produce ID if asked. Passengers should keep quiet unless asked a question.

If it's dark out, all the interior lights should be turned on -- dome lights, map lights, etc. to help the officer see into the car.


By doing the above, you're being very considerate & helpful to the officer & they'll take that into consideration if the officer can use their discretion (verbal warning, ticket vs arrest) regarding a violation.



If you're on foot somewhere, try to ditch contraband/get onto public property if you can do so before you're spotted, but *if* you're spotted, don't try to flee unless you're 80% sure you can get away with it. Act like you kinda belong there, let the officer see you have nothing threatening in your hands, keep your hands out of your pockets, and be friendly & engaging. Be honest to a degree, show you're truly interested in the site/property by giving some history on it, to demonstrate you're not just some bum or junkie looking for a crash pad, but no matter ow friendly the officer is being, politely decline to admit you went inside the property, etc.

If it's one officer on the scene first & they see you, expect them to either wait for a backup before they make contact, or for the officer to either be really laid-back (keeping you at-ease) or somewhat of a ball-buster (officer-safety reasons) until another unit arrives. THEN you may get asked WTF were you doing, or told that you're under arrest, etc.


SO MANY ASSHOLES are rude & disrespectful to officers & just spew out silly lies, by simply acting like a polite & respectful human being, they really appreciate it & would rather leave you alone & get back to looking for major criminals & dirtbags, but for some crimes or situations, they don't have much discretion.



/-/oolie

Also remember that here in the USA, officers are allowed to lie to you in order to
elicit confessions.

"Look sonny, did you know there was a hidden camera in that shack? If I have to call the owner & have him come out right now to get the camera & we find images of you on it, I'll HAVE to arrest you for a felony! But if you just admit to me here & now that yeah, you wandered in there & looked around for a few minutes, then I can just write you a simple misdemeanor citation, and you'll be on your way home in 5 minutes from now. So what'll it be?"


One time, many years ago, an officer said to me "Look, I don't know if you were in there or not in there, nor do I really care. But the property owner of the place is kinda crazy, so just please leave the place alone because if he catches you or someone else there, he may shoot you & then that's a big hassle for me, OK?"



/-/oolie

Posted by Little Sister I've always just been polite, honest, and apologetic to anyone I run into from law enforcement and I haven't been arrested yet. Respect goes a long way. I always keep in mind that these people put themselves in dangerous situations all the time, and that they don't know that I'm not a threat so if they have to give me a "hard time" so that they can be sure they're being safe then I don't mind. I don't know if that's helpful or not, but it's simple and effective

Being a girl you can always just bat your eyelashes at them too, that probably helps.

Batting my eyelashes usually doesn't help me, but that's probably because I'm male. Or doing it wrong. Or both.

Posted by Darendor Being a girl you can always just bat your eyelashes at them too, that probably helps. Batting my eyelashes usually doesn't help me, but that's probably because I'm male. Or doing it wrong. Or both.

I've actually never "just batted my eyelashes" to get out of something. Believe it or not not all members of law enforcement are knuckle-dragging evolutionary rejects, and not all women use their gender as a "get out of jail free card".

RESPECT is something that will work for you with both male and female officers, you should try it out.


Edited to add the word "should"

I have very little respect for law enforcement frankly.

But go ahead and take offense to a tongue-in-cheek comment, I guess.

Posted by Darendor I have very little respect for law enforcement frankly. But go ahead and take offense to a tongue-in-cheek comment, I guess.

I want to start by saying that I'm not trying to be dramatic, and that I can understand that you were just joking around and not meaning any harm. I'm not trying to make a bad guy out of you for saying something in good humor, I realize that it certainly wasn't ill-intended. I apologize if my response was a little harsh.

That being said, I feel like I have an obligation to say this: trying to flirt with someone in an attempt to get out of a situation is very dangerous. There are many things that can go wrong. I've seen this method attempted twice, in both cases the the cops took it as an insult to their intelligence and seemed to want to make an example of these girls. It can also be construed as bribery. In other, much scarier instances, this can lead to sexual exploitation and rape.


So if there are any girls reading this thread, please don't attempt this.

Posted by /-/ooligan If you're in a car that gets pulled-over, the driver should have his ID/insurance/registration ready then both hands on near the top of the steering wheel. Have the driver's window about 1/3 down while waiting for the officer to make contact. Don't open the doors/get out of the car unless told to. Everyone else inside the car should have their hands empty & visible to an approaching officer, windows up, or just down 1/3 if deeply tinted, and be ready to produce ID if asked. Passengers should keep quiet unless asked a question. If it's dark out, all the interior lights should be turned on -- dome lights, map lights, etc. to help the officer see into the car.

Yeah no, I won't have my ID or stuff ready as this indicates that he caught you doing something wrong.
Be friendly and that's it.

By doing the above, you're being very considerate & helpful to the officer & they'll take that into consideration if the officer can use their discretion (verbal warning, ticket vs arrest) regarding a violation.

Actually it does right the opposite as they are now sure you did something wrong.

If you're on foot somewhere, try to ditch contraband/get onto public property if you can do so before you're spotted, but *if* you're spotted, don't try to flee unless you're 80% sure you can get away with it.

Are we talking about UER or drug smuggling?

Act like you kinda belong there,

First good thing you said.

If it's one officer on the scene first & they see you, expect them to either wait for a backup before they make contact, or for the officer to either be really laid-back (keeping you at-ease) or somewhat of a ball-buster (officer-safety reasons) until another unit arrives. THEN you may get asked WTF were you doing, or told that you're under arrest, etc.

I really want to see that they arrest me without asking me to leave the property first.
Don't forget every state has different laws and what might be a reason for an arrest will give you a reason to sue the city in a different state.

SO MANY ASSHOLES are rude & disrespectful to officers & just spew out silly lies, by simply acting like a polite & respectful human being, they really appreciate it & would rather leave you alone & get back to looking for major criminals & dirtbags, but for some crimes or situations, they don't have much discretion.

And many just look like they are guilty but having ID and insurance on hand at all times.
Just make sure you know the state law and be nice to the chops. Also knowing about local events you can talk about is always good.
Like the sport events and such.

Posted by Darendor I have very little respect for law enforcement frankly. But go ahead and take offense to a tongue-in-cheek comment, I guess.

And they will still help you when you need them.

When I got caught I was very honest and straight forward. We were in the wrong, so we did everything they asked and it went along way. We got off scott free. Though we did try to run. The full story is in my journal.

Posted by Little Sister I've actually never "just batted my eyelashes" to get out of something. Believe it or not not all members of law enforcement are knuckle-dragging evolutionary rejects, and not all women use their gehttps://www.uer....cats.asp?fid=1nder as a "get out of jail free card". RESPECT is something that will work for you with both male and female officers, you should try it out. Edited to add the word "should"

Dude, member for one month. 69 likes and full member? My god.

Ninjalicious' book has a long part about this, id recommend picking it up. If you have any questions, thats where they will be answered.

I find batting my eyelashes at them works just fine.

In my experience a good thing to do is apologize to them for the hassle to them of even coming out. "Man I hope you aren't here because of me, I was just taking some pictures" Offering to remedy the situation that brought LEOs there has helped me immensely along with feigning ignorance. But above all, try to make their life better. Filing reports is a hassle, trying to make their life easier leads to them making yours easier.

Posted by skatchkins I find batting my eyelashes at them works just fine.

I'm curious what part(s) of Honduras were these taken at?
I have traveled around a few areas before.

click to view

Edit:
Saw from another post that you were in San Pedro Sula. That is where we would always start out at before heading to the mountains.

Awesome place.

Posted by Little Sister I've always just been polite, honest, and apologetic to anyone I run into from law enforcement and I haven't been arrested yet. Respect goes a long way. I always keep in mind that these people put themselves in dangerous situations all the time, and that they don't know that I'm not a threat so if they have to give me a "hard time" so that they can be sure they're being safe then I don't mind. I don't know if that's helpful or not, but it's simple and effective

That works for me with cops, but with security they don't care.
I was gonna get banned from this location for 5 years but I got banned for 2 for being polite, honest, and apologetic.