How Long Can Police Detain Me?

Length Of Detainment In Connecticut After An Arrest

While everyone knows the police can arrest a suspect in a case, a question often asked is “How long can police detain me if they are not arresting me?”

Both the 4^th Amendment to the US Constitution and Article First, Section 7 of the Connecticut Constitution guarantees that an individual shall be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. This is because a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy from government intrusion.

However, if a police officer has a warrant for your arrest or, even without a warrant, a valid reason based on probable cause or reasonable suspicion, then they are allowed to arrest or detain you. As well, a police officer in the course of performing his duty can detain you temporarily in order to ask questions or to investigate a crime. This detention, and the questions the police officer asks you may or may not lead to an arrest. But how long can police detain you without charging you?

Police Detention

In the course of performing their public duties, police officers in the United States interact with both criminals and law-abiding members of the public alike. Oftentimes, for a police officer to catch a criminal or detain a suspect in a crime, they must conduct a thorough investigation and talk to and question members of the public (eyewitnesses, relatives, passersby, and the like) to figure out what happened. Because of this, in order to effectively do their jobs, police officers can and often do temporarily detain people in order to investigate the matter further and question them.

Detention happens whenever a police officer uses enough force or a show of authority that a reasonable person would believe that they are not free to leave, including at a checkpoint. Generally, police detention that does not result in an arrest takes approximately from around fifteen to twenty minutes before the person being detained can leave. However, this time limit may vary on a case by case basis, depending on the particular situation, the severity of the case, and the police officer involved in the detainment.

Limitations on Police Detention: How Long Can Police Detain Me?

But how long can police detain you? Although police officers can detain people in order to help them pursue leads and figure out what happened in a given situation, there are certain limitations on this power of detention. First, the police officer must tell you whether you are being detained. This can be determined by simply asking the police officer, “Am I free to leave?” If the police officer says yes, then you are free to leave and go about your business without any further delay.

However, if the police officer says no, you are not free to leave, then you cannot leave until the police officer is finished with his questions for you or his investigation into the crime. This detention can take anywhere from several minutes to several hours. If this is the case, and you are being detained by the police officer, then you can ask them whether they have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to detain you. If they have neither reasonable suspicion nor probable cause to keep you, then they are generally not allowed to detain you. However, just because this is what the law requires, does not mean that they will follow it. Sometimes, there are police officers who do not follow the law.

Civil Liberties

Although this is a direct violation of your civil liberties, arguing the point with the police officer right then may only escalate the situation. As such, you should remember any violations on the part of the police in order to tell your lawyer later and politely voice your objection to the officer, but avoid any further remarks. So how long can the police detain you depends on the particular situation, the severity of the case being investigated, and the particular officer involved.

Contact Us

If you or someone you know have been charged with a crime, it is important to consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney that can help zealously defend your case. Contact Iron Chris Immigration & Criminal Defense at 860-530-1781 for a free consultation relative to your case.

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Christopher Llinas

J. Christopher Llinas is a Connecticut criminal defense and immigration attorney with over 25 years of legal experience. He is the founder of Iron Chris Criminal Defense & Immigration, based in Middletown, CT. Chris earned his J.D. from Franklin Pierce Law Center (now the University of New Hampshire School of Law) in 1997 and holds a B.A., magna cum laude, in English from Salisbury University. During law school he served as a teaching assistant for Civil Procedure and Constitutional Law, and competed in moot court and trial advocacy programs. He began his legal career as an Assistant Public Defender, defending clients in felony, misdemeanor, and traffic matters. He later served as an Assistant State's Attorney, prosecuting criminal and traffic cases — giving him a firsthand understanding of how the prosecution builds its case. He has also served as a law clerk, legal aid attorney, and in-house corporate counsel before dedicating his practice to criminal defense and immigration. Chris is admitted to practice in Connecticut, Maryland, the U.S. District Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), the National College of DUI Defense (NCDD), and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). His practice covers DUI and OUI defense, drug charges, weapons charges, violent crimes, juvenile matters, probation violations, federal criminal defense, and immigration removal proceedings throughout Connecticut.