2007-06-17 08:45:18 · 11 answers · asked by Marie C 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
I don't think people are REQUIRED to carry ID at all times (just for things where they need to prove their age or that they're licensed to drive), but in some areas you may be encouraged to carry your ID just because of local laws.
One town I lived in required minors (anyone under 18) to be home (or at least indoors) by 10pm (midnight on Fridays and Saturdays) and any cop could stop you on the street and demand your age if you were out at night. A lot of them did it to assert their dominance, and keeping an ID handy made it easier to get them out of your face.
2007-06-17 09:00:25 · answer #1 · answered by Laura 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An individual is always free to refuse a police officer's demand to identify himself/herself, if the officer has not "lawfully stopped" the individual [1]. An officer cannot "lawfully stop" someone without being able to "point to specific and articulable facts, which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably" justify the officer in suspecting the particular person stopped is engaged in criminal activity [2].
If an individual HAS been lawfully stopped, the individual CAN be required to identify himself/herself by a method of the individual's (NOT the officer's) choosing (e.g., the individual could produce a driver's license, or a Social Security card, or a bank statement, or even just verbally state his/her name and refuse to show any documents) [3].
The officer can NOT require the individual to produce any documents to prove his/her identity, absent some clear guidelines from the law about exactly what kind of documentation will suffice [4].
In certain cases, laws have required individuals to produce identification documents, and have provided clear guidelines, as required. For instance, most states are very clear on what type of identifying document an individual operating a motor vehicle is required to produce upon request of a police officer: a driver's license [5]. (Generally, a driver must also produce vehicle registration and proof-of-insurance, but I don't think either would qualify as an "ID" as you mean in your question.) In another example, the federal government requires individuals boarding a commercial airplane to complete a screening process, which includes displaying a government-issued identification document with a photograph of the person it purports to identify [6].
Hope that answers your question!
2007-06-17 15:55:26 · answer #2 · answered by JSCLRI 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i'm ecu. I merely approximately on no account carry identity with me, until i understand i will want it. i will commute from Britain (the place i'm from) by France, Holland, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, all the thank you to Turkey or Finland, without ever needing identity (in theory). What might you define a 'suspicious individual' as? How does a loss of identity 'enable' terrorism? maximum terrorists have on no account been in the U. S..
2016-12-13 05:32:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is a yes and no answer. We are not like the old Soviet Union where we have to have I.D. But you are required to show an I.D. to police if they ask you for it. That is if you have one with you. Even if you don't drive you can get a State I.D. card from the DMV. I would rather have an I.D. If you are in an accident then they will know who you are and have an easier time trying to find family.
2007-06-17 08:54:17 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Technically, if the police ask for some ID and you don't have any on you, they can take you in on suspicion of something they conjure up, but there is no law that says that you MUST have ID on you.
2007-06-18 00:32:11 · answer #5 · answered by WC 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You don't have to carry any ID.. But its like wearing clean underwear.. What if your in a accident and hurt you don't want to be wearing dirty underwear, and how would the police know who to notify if your dead? As far as wearing dirty underwear, if your in a accident you'll probably Soil your underwear anyway, so don't worry about wearing clean underwear no more!....
2007-06-17 09:00:56 · answer #6 · answered by Richard (RC) C 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. That would be like Nazi Germany. They made the Jews tatoo ID numbers on their arms. Awful!
2007-06-17 08:52:53 · answer #7 · answered by Eisbär 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Any time you are driving, you are required to carry a driver's license.
2007-06-17 09:14:22 · answer #8 · answered by Kenneth C 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, they are not. This would be facism. The only time you need ID is for driving and buying liquor.
2007-06-17 08:48:19 · answer #9 · answered by Michael S 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, If you don't prove you are a U.S Citizen , then you could be deported to England.
2007-06-17 08:53:18 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋