student to be questioned by police

[Dragonflygarden]

I agree with the posters who suggested the video. Watch the video yourself and have your son watch it. And alwats remember - the police can and will lie to you.

[rhumbob]

The original post is unclear...do the CAMPUS POLICE want him to come to their office or is it the LOCAL POLICE who want him to come to the Police Station?

For the respondents above would your advice be different if this was a call from the campus police as opposed to the local police department?

[glido]

" . . .I would either arrange for an attorney to accompany him, or retain an attorney to contact the authorities to find out what exactly they want. " - bklyngal

He should not say JACK without a lawyer who represnets HIM present.

The only thing he should say is that he is invoking his right to counsel.

[waitingforivy]

Just a general question - what should a non-autistic or autistic college student do if they are called to the police to be questioned about something and don't want to go? If they're above 18, a student can't really say "I'll only speak to you in front of my parents", can they?

[HImom]

I agree--I would and urge my kids and anyone I cared about to invoke their 5th amendment rights and right to counsel. Would decline to be questioned UNLESS counsel representing ME was present and I could confer with said counsel before and throughout the questioning. Would wait until a subpoena was issued REQUIRING me to be present.

The video link above is VERY revealing and VERY important viewing for EVERYONE. Detectives and attorneys are in the business of collecting evidence to convict, NOT to gather information about why your kid or loved one has nothing to do with the event and/or should not be questioned. NEVER TALK WITH OFFICERS--IT CANNOT HELP AND YOUR ATTORNEY WILL HAVE A LOT TO DO TO TRY TO REPAIR DAMAGE FROM ANY INTERVIEWS. As an attorney, I would NEVER speak to police without MY attorney present.

[dodgersmom]

what should a non-autistic or autistic college student do if they are called to the police to be questioned about something and don't want to go?

Just say NO.

Age makes no difference - you cannot under any circumstances (at least not any circumstances that are relevant here) be compelled to answer questions or assist the police. The police can also not compel you to "come down to the station" for any reason . . . unless you are under arrest. So, when in doubt, just say no.

If they're above 18, a student can't really say "I'll only speak to you in front of my parents", can they?

No, the answer is, "I won't speak to you without an attorney." Asking for a parent does NOT protect your student's rights - asking for an attorney does.

[atomom]

From what I understand, this is the campus police. But I'm not sure how they are separate from the city police there.
I called the dorm office and expressed my concerns--they said there were no incidents that they were aware of that the police were looking into (sort of bad news, because that means they are talking to S in particular--not just a bunch of kids from that dorm in general.) However, they will alert the director of the dorm and RA about it. They understood my concern about autism/communicating with police.
S was surprised by the phone call from the police (I was called first by accident since the dorm had my phone number), and just agreed to answer questions tomorrow WITHOUT EVEN ASKING what it was about. I had to point out that this lack of curiosity makes it look like he already knows what it might be about. . .I only had the officer's repeated reassurance that S is "not in trouble" when I asked why they needed to contact S. (. . . I looked at the lists and videos --I was trained to think that "the policeman is your friend" or that you could HELP the police by providing information that might make your community safer. . .why I gave S's number. I don't want to be paranoid, but I can see how an innocent person can be made to look guilty.)
I also talked to my S again and asked him detailed questions about ANYTHING he might have been associated with (theft, drugs, alcohol, conflict with another student, witness to any of the above, etc.) that could raise suspicion or make police want to talk to him. There is nothing. I asked him to think hard and just imagine ANY possible thing. It is sort of amusing what he came up with: He filled out a survey that had his name on it. He thought that his answers to some of the multiple choice questions could possibly indicate depression (?? not sure why POLICE would care--maybe student health. . .) A couple days ago he walked around the campus police station building. He walked all the way around the building. Just looking at the building. Not close to the building but about 100 yards from the building. And he thought maybe the fact that he walked all the way around the building was seen on security cameras and they wondered why he did that (??) Oh yeah. There was a notice in the dorm about missing items. What kind of items? Clothes. (LOL--S would never steal anything--he is completely non-materialistic. And he would never wear someone else's clothes. Like a lot of autistic people, S prefers to wear the same kind of clothes all the time: Black jeans. Black jacket. Dark t-shirt. (He does wash them)
Black shoes. (Always being seen ALONE and WEARING BLACK might be the most likely reason why police would want to talk to him.) I talked to S about how his poor communication skills might make him look suspicious.
Talked to H. H is not concerned. He thinks it is OK to just let him go and see what it's about. S has a sister at a college nearby. H thought maybe she could go with S, but I think she has classes in the morning.

[SteveMA]

Has he spent time alone with a girl?

[dodgersmom]

H is not concerned. He thinks it is OK to just let him go and see what it's about.

It might be okay. And it might not.

And if it's not, the ramifications could be HUGE . . . and by the time you find out, it could well be too late.

This isn't about trusting your son - it's about trusting total strangers. Is that a risk you want to take?

[atomom]

LOL--you don't know this kid. Never. I actually called him to make sure that there was no girl who could potentially accuse him of anything.

He says he'll just not go. But what if they call him back? Just ignore the call? (Unfortunately, ignoring things/people/issues has been one of his common communication strategies. Not because he has any problems or is guilty of anything--he just doesn't like talking to strangers.) What should he say? If they could only reassure him by telling him what the heck this is about. It is probably some incredibly minor thing. Why can't they just tell him on the phone?

[SteveMA]

atomom-doesn't have to be in a "relationship" but what about studying for a test or just walking into her dorm room to say hi. I hate to say it but never say never. I'm sure he did nothing wrong but that doesn't mean someone didn't accuse him of doing something wrong.

[rualum]

I would not advise either of my college age sons to agree to questioning by police just to be nice or helpful. If it is that serious that they need to talk to him in private, he needs to be represented by a lawyer.

[toblin]

The world we live in has changed since we were kids. In our country today, the police are not your friend. Your son should tell them no. Not being guilty of anything is not an assurance the legal system can't seriously threaten and/or punish you. If they insist, and it doesn't sound like they will, make sure he is represented. What has happened to our country?

[atomom]

S wouldn't say hi to a girl. Well, maybe his sister. He studies alone.

[lookingforward]

You called the dorm office- but did you call anyone else? I'd be on the phone to the Dean, to learn what I could and express concerns about him being interviewed alone. The person who called initially said he is not in trouble- I'd be curious to learn what this is.

Also, a nagging question- how does one just ditch a campus police request?

You learned from housing that they don't have something brewing, but it could be anything. My other kid had to go talk to campus security when she had our car for a few weeks and kept parking it in the wrong zones.