American Government Letter
To the Editor,
People’s Chronicle Magazine
Alma, Missouri.
RE: CREATING PUBLIC AWARENESS ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS
Dear Sir/ Madam,
I am writing to you regarding the creation of public awareness amongst the residents of the City of Alma, in the State of Missouri. As the producers of a highly influential newsletter, your authority in creating awareness to the public concerning the protections they are entitled to will be of great importance. As an organization, we request that your publications provide us with a platform to educate the public on above-mentioned matters.Information relating to the premises on which citizens are protected from harassments by the law enforcing agencies is divided into three instances.
Firstly, the first section requires the citizens and the non-citizens to know the types of law protection agencies that have the legal mandate to question an individual. Under this, there is a variety of officers such as those from the State or Local Police, Homeland Security, Joint Terrorism Task Force, and Naval Criminal Investigation Service. One does not have to answer any question but can request to have a lawyer. The exceptions to this scenario are within States that require an individual to give their names to the officers on request and when one is pulled over by the officers (ACLU, 2015).
The second section relates to instances where law enforcement officers stop and arrest an individual. In cases where a person is stopped on the streets and asked a question by the officer, they have a right to remain silent and ask whether they are free to go. It is important for a citizen to distinguish between an arrest and detainment. For those in cars, the law demands that on being stopped, they have to place their hands where they are visible to the officers. Consequently, one should provide a driver’s license, proof of registration and insurance cover in case they are asked for documents.
However, officers not only have no right to search the car without a search warrant but also not to separate the drivers and passengers for questioning (ACLU, 2015). The last section relates to warrants and arrests by law enforcing agencies. The officers have a right to search a person’s premises or workplace when they have a warrant authorizing them to do so. Additionally, a search can be carried out with the consent of the office or homeowner. However, in instances where a person is not available, his residence can be searched by the officers with the consent of the roommate or any other individual deemed to have the right of admission. The details to be found in a warrant are such as the name of the premises to be searched, date, items to be searched, and finally the name of the agency carrying out the search.
An individual has no obligation to answer any question even if the officers …
