Can police detain you for walking at night?
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Can police detain you for walking at night?
My friends and I were taking a walk late at night/early in the morning down an off neighborhood road. There was no criminal activity taking place nor did we look disoriented as if drunk or causing any kind of commotion. The police pulled over and asked us immediately who we were and if our parents knew where we were. We complied and answered no and they made us call our parents to come get us all. Are they allowed to do this? Could we have just asked on what grounds and if they had non could we be on our way?
Asked on September 3, 2016 under Criminal Law, Florida
Answers:
B.H.F., Member, Texas State Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Local jurisdictions can impose city and municipal ordinances that set curfews for minors. If you were a minor and out after your city's curfew, then the police could detain you and call your parents because of the curfrew violations.
If you were not a minor, but looked very young, then the police could detain you just to make sure that you were not underaged.
On the flip side, if you clearly were not a minor, then the only thing law enforcement could do is simply talk to you. Law enforcement can talk to anyone at any time. However, they cannot detail you unless they have a reason to believe that you are committing some offense.
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