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LEGAL ADVICE FOR ACTIVISTS:

2. Giving your details and showing ID

Contents

2.1 Giving your details
2.2 Prior to Arrest
2.3 After Arrest
2.4 Giving your Date of Birth
2.5 Providing ID

2.1 Giving your details

Other than under road traffic and anti-social behaviour legislation, you do not commit an offence in English law by refusing to give your name and address to the police. However there are certain situations where the police may arrest you if they cannot establish your name and address, and if you are arrested and charged with an offence you will be unlikely to be granted bail unless they can establish these details.

2.2 Prior to Arrest

The general rule to remember is that you never have to give your name and address to the police prior to arrest, subject to the following 3 exceptions:

1. where the police reasonably suspect you of a non-arrestable offence, and require your name and address for the service of a summons (Section 25 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE));
2. where you are the driver of a vehicle;
3. where the police say they suspect you of “anti-social behaviour.

2.2.1 Section 25 Police & Criminal Evidence Act (PACE)

The main situation where you have to give your name and address to the police is when they say that they want to issue you with a summons for a non-arrestable offence

Section 25 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) states that the police can arrest you where they reasonably suspect that you have committed a non-arrestable offence, and serving you with a summons is inappropriate because they cannot establish your name and address or because they reasonably suspect that the details you have given are false.

If the police say they suspect you of an offence, you should ask them to state what the offence is. This will make it easier for you to decide if they “reasonably suspect” you of the offence or not.

If you know the law, you will have some idea whether the police do reasonably suspect you or if they are just fishing for information. The police often bluff simply in order to get your details. For example if they pull your vehicle over on the way to a demo and demand that everyone give their names and addresses, then it’s unlikely that they will suspect everyone of an offence. On the other hand if you have left the scene of a demo where there was disorderly conduct or aggravated trespass, then the police could use Section 25 if they have evidence that you or your vehicle was involved. If you are arrested under Section 25, the police must release you as soon as they have established your name and address. For more on “non-arrestable offences” see section 11.

You are only obliged to give the police an address that can be used for the service of a summons, and this need not necessarily be your home address. So, for example, you could give the police the phone number and address of a solicitor who is willing to receive the summons on your behalf. The police would normally phone the solicitor to confirm this, so it is something you would probably need to arrange in advance.

If you do decide to give the police your name and address, they may still arrest you if they reasonably believe that the details you have given are not true. This is where they may ask you for some form of identification. There is no obligation to provide the police with ID, and the police can make various checks to establish this (see “Providing ID, Page 3).

2.2.2 Driving a Vehicle

The police can demand your name, address and date of birth where you are driving a vehicle on a road. They can also demand these details if they have reason to suspect that you have committed a driving offence or been the driver of a vehicle which has been involved in an accident. You commit an offence by refusing to give your details in this situation, and the police can arrest you for this under Section 25 PACE.

Whether or not you are “driving” is a matter of fact and degree. You must have some form of control over the vehicle and this can include sitting at the wheel while the engine is running or steering a vehicle which is being towed. If you are not actually in the vehicle, then the police cannot say you are “driving” it and thereby demand your details.

A road is defined as any highway or road to which the public has access.

2.2.3 Section 50 Police Reform Act 2002

A recent development in police attempts to gain activists’ details is the use of Section 50 of the Police Reform Act 2002. This makes it an offence to refuse to give your name and address to a police officer, where the officer reasonably suspects that you have engaged in “anti-social behaviour”.

“Anti-social behaviour” is defined as behaviour that has caused harassment, alarm or distress to other people. Section 50 carries no specific power of arrest, but if you refuse to give your name and address, then the police can say that they suspect you of committing a non-arrestable offence and Section 25 PACE applies.
The use by the police of this power will at some stage be challenged in court, as it was not designed to deal with political protest but with anti-social behaviour, for example by youths on housing estates. However, police forces are increasingly using the power, and you should be aware that they could arrest you if you refuse to give details

2.3 After Arrest

After arrest you still have the right to remain silent, but failure to give a name and address will mean that you will probably not be given bail if you are charged. If you are not charged with an offence then the police have to let you go, even if they don’t have your name and address.

The point to remember is that you do not commit an offence in these circumstances by refusing to give your name and address. This does not amount to the offence, for example, of obstructing the police in their line of duty. If the police try and tell you otherwise they are bluffing. There may well be very good reasons for you to delay giving your details to the police – eg. in order to give someone time to get to your house before it is raided.

If you give false details at any stage you could be liable for obstructing a police officer in his line of duty or even, more seriously, for perverting the course of justice.

2.4 Giving your Date of Birth

Except where you are the driver of a vehicle or have been involved in a vehicle accident or committed a road traffic offence, you never have to give your date of birth and you cannot be arrested or detained for refusal to do so.

2.5 Providing ID

Regardless of what the police may say, you are not legally obliged to carry ID but sometimes the police will ask you for this all the same. In certain circumstances they can arrest you either for refusing to supply them with details or where they suspect the details you have given are false.

Under Section 25 PACE the police can arrest you if they cannot establish your details or they reasonably believe the details you have given are false. If the police have demanded your details under this section and they have ‘reasonable suspicion’ that the details you have provided are not correct, then they have the power to arrest you in order to establish your name and address.

This situation could arise for example where you are the driver of a vehicle and are unable to produce your documents to the police. This is technically an offence (although you will not be prosecuted if you produce your documents later at a police station) and so it triggers the power in Section 25 PACE. The police may then demand that you show some proof of name and address or face arrest. The police are often bluffing in these situations, and unless they have genuine reason to believe you are lying it's quite rare for them to arrest you. But if you don’t want to take the risk, it’s best to either have some ID on you or some other means of confirming your name and address.

Even if you have no ID on you, the police can often establish your details by checking the electoral register or the Police National Computer. Nowadays they can check the Motor Insurance Database, as this gives them the name and address of the keeper of the vehicle. They can also check the DVLA database to see if you actually have a driving license. If your name comes up on one of these checks, then it will be hard for them to say that they reasonably believe the details you have given are false even if you cannot produce any ID.

Another method the police sometimes use is to ask for the phone number of someone who can confirm your name and address. If you have no ID on you and you think you're going to be arrested, you can offer the phone number for example of your solicitor who will confirm your identity. If the police refuse to phone them, it will be hard for them to argue later that they "reasonably suspected" that the details you gave were false, as a reasonable police officer would attempt to phone the solicitor.

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