Q: What are the latest legal resources you can highlight?
A: If you are arrested or detained by police, you still have rights. A useful resource is The Arrest Handbook published by the BC Civil Liberties Association and its information can be found in hard copy and online.
If you haven’t heard of the BC Civil Liberties Association, some of their key goals (which you can read in the handbook) are to “promote, defend, sustain, and extend civil liberties and human rights by challenging unfair laws, educating the public, advocating for law and policy reform, and holding state actors accountable.”
The Arrest Handbook isn’t instead of legal advice, but it can be a guide to help you in various situations if you have it handy.
The handbook is divided into sections and subsections. Here are some of them: Interactions with police (ie. random police stops or “street checks”); being arrested (ie. remaining silent); search and seizure (ie. search of your phones and computers); protest, civil disobedience and Indigenous resistance (ie. legal consequences for protestors and land defenders); heavily policed communities (ie. people who use drugs); youth and the law (ie. special rules for youth), as well as many other headings.
An example of information in the “Search of your phones and computers” subsection: Personal electronic devices, like cell phones and laptops, have special protections because they can show your location, conversations, medical records, and banking information. The police generally need a warrant to search them.” The handbook elaborates further on this topic, but this gives you an idea of the type of writing/language in the resource.
There’s also an Arrest Pocketbook available online or as a paper copy. It’s just a shorter version of the full-length arrest handbook.
At the Resource Centre, we can send you a link to the online version of the handbook or pocketbook and we’ve ordered some hard copies for the office to arrive within the month. People and organizations can order their own personal copies and access the online version themselves via the BC Civil Liberties Association’s website: bccla.org/resource/the-arrest-handbook-2023.
To connect to more information on the topics around being arrested, or any number of legal or legal advocacy topics, we encourage you to connect with our legal information and legal advocacy programs at the Resource Centre. Find our contact details below–you can make an appointment, pop by the office, phone, or go online.
Seniors: Update on local lawyer Robert Hart’s free legal clinics at the Sechelt Seniors Centre. The clinics are now happening every Thursday. Consults are 15 minutes and up to 90 minutes maximum. For more info, and to book, contact the front desk at the Sechelt Seniors Centre 604-885-3513.
Angie Theilmann is an information and referral specialist at the Sunshine Coast Resource Centre, your community information hub at 107A - 5710 Teredo. The Resource Centre is open Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Appointments are recommended to be sure we are available to help you. Note: on some days, we can book clients after 2 p.m. Contact us: [email protected] or 604-885-4088. Search our online directory at www.resourcecentre.ca
