# How to be criminally safe

Mind the impression you give.

- Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can give the impression that you're a criminal.
- Asking the wrong questions to the wrong person can imply you have ulterior motives.

Watch for mandatory reporters.

- Mandatory reporters are required by most states' laws to notify of any suspicions they have about specific activities, especially pertaining to [children](parenting-babies.md) and [the elderly](hardship-death.md).
- Some examples of mandatory reporters are school faculty, medical personnel, social workers, military, psychological counselors, and police officers.
- In the case of military and police officers, they can almost always hold things you say against you as a legitimate eyewitness account in a court hearing, as well as arrest you.
- Generally, the farther [left-leaning](politics-leftism.md) a nation gets, the more places that society establishes mandatory reporters.

For a non-emergency, call 311 instead of 911.

Outside of breaking and entering (such as climbing a fence), private property signs usually have no legal enforceability.

## Watch your behavior in public

Having an open container of alcohol in public is considered public drunkenness, even if you aren't drinking it.

It's illegal to use someone's public Wi-Fi network without their permission.

Do *not* do anything in a loud or disruptive way.

- Avoid yelling, exposing anyone to significant risks (e.g., waving a gun around), or dress immodestly [for the culture](morality-taboo.md).
- Quite a few seemingly innocent things qualify as "disrupting the peace" or "public indecency".

Physically touching anyone, even your child, can be counted as assault if *anyone* presses charges.

- Intentionally splashing a drink on someone or flicking their ear can sometimes be counted as assault.

Be careful what [intellectual property](legal-ip.md) you share, and to whom.

Unless you want to risk your life, don't try to organize with others or confront the government about anything directly.

- Even in free societies where you may not die, you'll find governments will make your *other* government affairs "coincidentally" more difficult.
- Only confront the government if you plan to become *part* of it (e.g., winning an election) and have the finances to take it on.

Only call out corruption if you're certain it's worth the cost.

- Most corruption comes through individuals' love of money, especially through the tremendous cash flow from drugs and sex.
- You may be rendered inert or killed if you call leadership out, which may include a conspiracy to shut you down with falsified evidence.
- Even when you're inside an organization, being a whistleblower will make the [organization](groups-large.md) seek to destroy you.
- Even under witness protection, you may not be safe.

## Be careful talking with police

Avoid *ever* talking to the police.

- You rarely have any obligation to answer a police officer's questions when stopped in the street.
  - Always use a lawyer to *ever* discuss matters with the police.
- Stay private as much as reasonable.
  - However, do *not* get defensive, or they can justify you had something you were trying to hide.
- The police often see themselves as part of the prosecutor's team, even if you're not defending yourself.
  - Their job requires them to seek criminal activity, so you're a suspect unless you're *also* law enforcement.
  - Many 911 dispatchers assume by default that most callers are [lying](people-lying.md).
- The only safe thing to discuss with the police is the scope of their responsibility (e.g., the standard procedure for a specific type of criminal charge).

You can unintentionally implicate yourself if you say anything at all to the police.

- If you make any mistakes retelling what happened, you've technically falsified information.
- The officer may incorrectly remember what you said in front of a judge.
- Police have no obligation to tell you the truth and may trick you into saying inaccurate things.
- Your statements could mix with faulty eyewitness accounts, poor testimonies, and bad luck to convict you of a severe crime.

In the USA, you must say your name and what you're doing presently, but nothing else.

- If they press the matter, you can ask for your lawyer.
  - You are not required to unlock your computer's/phone's passcode, and the officer can't tell a jury you refused their demand.
  - If they ask to search anything you own, including your vehicle, they must tell you what they suspect you have.
- The Fourth Amendment is now built to permit the police almost every right to search and seizure if they ever feel like it.
- The Fifth Amendment is now built to favor the police based on when you plead it, so don't plead it.

Be careful when and how you bribe.

- In a low-corruption region (e.g., USA), giving a bribe will cause you *more* trouble than simply paying a fine.
- However, in a high-corruption region, you'll need to keep around bribe money simply to avoid a prison sentence.

If you're in a high-crime region, hiring off-duty police for security wins favor within the law enforcement community.

- While it's technically a form of bribery and on-par with the mafia's "protection money", the police will be less likely to cause any trouble for you and more thorough at responding to an emergency call.

## Stay cautious while driving

Police hide on long straightaways to track speeding drivers.

- Truck drivers will often slow down by communicating police presence via CB.
- Use an app like [Waze](http://www.waze.com) to see police traps ahead.

Traffic laws don't apply to private property, including parking lots.

Handicapped parking signs on the ground are usually only enforceable with posted signs.

Sleeping drunk in your car with the keys in the ignition can still classify as driving.

Use your turn signals, even if you don't think anyone is watching.

Officers will often follow you for several miles to write a harsher ticket from observing a series of offenses.

If you are ever pulled over by the police:

1. Turn on your interior lights to show you have nothing to hide.
2. Keep your hands visible at all times.
3. Tell them when you are grabbing something and avoid making any sudden movements.

## How to defend yourself in court

[The process is absurdly arcane](legal-safety-crime.png), so learn to be patient, and don't expect anything will or won't happen until it's been finalized.

For most things (e.g., unsafe vehicle, inadequate property) you're required to receive a notice of violation first.

In a criminal situation, don't expect the courts to side with you.

- A police officer's testimony typically holds more weight in front of a judge than yours.

If you've researched, you likely know a decent-enough lawyer to help.

- Pay a retainer for the lawyer and memorize their phone number.

If you're legitimately innocent, you always have the truth on your side, but the truth isn't always easy to defend.

- Every nation's criminal justice system is at least partly adjusted unfairly against the defendant.
- Whenever possible, your recorded video and audio will exonerate you *much* more than [eyewitness testimony](mind-bias.md).
- If your people group or [ideology](values.md) doesn't reflect the majority of that [culture](people-culture.md), the odds are stacked against you.

If you're not in a favorable situation, taking a plea deal can often save *years* of potential incarceration.

## Be extra careful after *any* incarceration

If you're released on probation or parole, *be obsessively careful*.

- Most people go back to life as usual, but even the *slightest* misstep before your period is over will be a violation that will send you into a terrible place.
- Unless you're choosing to flee the region (and never come back in your life as well as face the risk of extradition) absolutely honor every single requirement placed upon you, and communicate openly about every single aspect that may influence your situation with them.

Your only hope for redemption is through [living better](goodlife.md) than before, to the point of never even *implying* that you do what you once did.

- Once you're fully free, it may make sense to change regions (e.g., move to another country, move to a [remote location](home-homestead.md)) where you can start life again without the record following you as severely.