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Suggested reaction for most people

If you ever have to interact with the police, consider asking the officers if they respect Davis v Lisle and the requirement that police powers only be used in accordance with the law. It is reasonable to demand a law-abiding police force, and any officer who is unaware of this is lacking the basic training necessary. The only way we're going to get this is if enough people demand it. Watch out for attempts to dodge the question like saying they would never break any laws. Of course, you don't need to do this if police co-operation is highly desirable for you or you fear it would put you in danger, but in general, "does this officer know how policing is supposed to work" should be your first question. And if you suspect this account of being false or disruptive, and you think police are law-abiding, then confirming this should not cause any problems.

This is particularly important before letting them into your home. Just don't open the door, if you can avoid it. They will probably know that they can enter your house and take things from it if they want, without being held accountable. If you do have to open the door, then here are two good questions which a legitimate police officer should have no problem giving a simple 'yes' to:

This will not guarantee proper behaviour, police are happy to lie without thinking, but a police officer with less than honest intentions is highly likely to respond evasively or assert authority in this case, since this is how they will be justifying their intentions in their heads. Do not trust any police officer who does this.

You can probably be less cautious if you actively want them in your house, if it was burgled, for example. But it still can't hurt. And being reminded of this might make them less likely to break the law in other situations in the future.


Digitally signed, signature here To verify, base64 decode the signature and:

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