Identity checks: police rights
Identity checks: police rights
"I was recently stopped in the street for no apparent reason by police officers who asked me for my identity papers. Did they have the right to do so if I wasn't doing anything wrong?
James, Geneva
Interrogation for the purposes of identity checks is subject to requirements of public interest and proportionality, as it is likely to infringe the constitutional guarantee of personal freedom. Geneva's Police Act provides that police officers have the right to demand proof of identity from any person. The need to suppress criminal acts and prevent their commission obviously justifies the police being able to carry out simple identity checks without being prevented from doing so by overly strict rules. On the other hand, this power of control must not imply an obligation to carry identity papers at all times. The police do not have the power to stop anyone walking down the street for no reason, whatever the circumstances.
Verbal questioning with a request for identity papers must not be vexatious and must be based on a minimum objective reason for believing that the person concerned is in an illegal situation. The person questioned must be taken to the police station in exceptional circumstances: he or she must not be able to prove his or her identity and an additional check must be necessary, for example if he or she resembles a wanted person. In most cases, the information provided by the person being checked enables the police to verify their identity on the spot, in particular by means of their address, telephone number or occupation. There are, however, situations where an on-site check is not possible, in particular when the behaviour of the person concerned does not allow it or when their attitude or description arouses suspicion. In such cases, the person taken to the police station can only be held there for the time absolutely necessary to check his identity using the simplest appropriate means.
