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This information is general and not a substitute for legal advice. The Legal Service Commission provides free advice for most legal problems. Call the Legal Helpline on 1300 366 424 or visit www.lsc.sa.gov.au or www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au
Police in South Australia have broad powers and duties. If you have contact with the police, you should understand your legal rights. It is sensible to be helpful and courteous to police. However, you should not let the police abuse their powers or treat you in an improper way.
If police question you, be polite and stay calm. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say to police may be recorded and used as evidence against you.
In some cases, the police can require you to give personal details including your name, address and date of birth, including:
A driver must show their licence on request by producing it on the spot or at a police station within 48 hours. If you hold a provisional, probationary, interstate or international licence or learner's permit, you must carry your licence with you at all times when driving.
It is a criminal offence to give an incorrect name and address or to give false information to the police.
Even before an arrest, the police may, without a warrant, search a person or a car if they have reason to suspect the person holds, or the car contains, evidence of a crime (for example, illegal drugs).
Police holding a search warrant have wider powers to enter and search premises and vehicles. In some cases, police may be authorised to break into a house or a car.
Police have increased powers in declared public precincts. A public area may be declared to ensure public safety during a large event, such as New Year’s Eve at Glenelg or for the Adelaide Fringe. A list of current declared public precincts is available on the SAPOL website at www.police.sa.gov.au/your-safety/declared-public-precincts.
If you are in a declared public precinct, the police may:
Within a declared public precinct, it is an offence to:
Police have additional powers to search people and their belongings for weapons in public places. Police may use metal detectors to search people at certain public locations (such as declared public transport hubs and shopping precincts) or in certain circumstances (such as where there is a likelihood of violence or disorder). A list of current declared public events and locations is available on the SAPOL website at www.police.sa.gov.au/your-safety/declared-public-events-and-places.
Police may order people to leave declared areas for public safety. It is an offence to refuse to comply with a lawful search or remain in or return to an area if ordered to leave
The police may arrest anyone suspected of committing an offence. The police do not need a warrant to arrest you. The police must make it clear to you by words or by actions that you are under arrest. If you are under arrest you are not free to leave. If you are unsure, ask the police if you are under arrest or you have to go with them. Police may use as much force as is reasonably necessary to arrest a person including using handcuffs or restraints.
It is a criminal offence to resist a lawful arrest.
A police officer may not use violence or threaten to use violence on you. Police are entitled to use whatever force is reasonably necessary if you try to struggle when under arrest, or if you are violent or refuse to be examined.
Being arrested means being taken into custody. Being charged is having a specific legal complaint made against you that must be answered in court.
If you are arrested on suspicion of having committed a serious offence, the police may detain you for up to 4 hours for the purpose of completing an investigation before you are delivered to a police station and charged. During that time the police may take you to places connected with the offence. A magistrate can grant police the power to detain someone for up to 8 hours before a charge is laid. Sometimes the police may arrest you but later release you without charge.
You have the right to remain silent. The police will probably ask you a lot of questions, but you do not have to answer them. If you do not wish to give information apart from personal details like your name, address and date of birth, just politely say so after each question.
Remember: anything you say may be used later in evidence against you. There is no such thing as an ‘off the record’ conversation with a police officer.
You also have the right to make one telephone call (though the police can stop you calling a particular person). You may have a lawyer, friend or relative present during questioning (though the police can refuse permission for a particular person to be present). You may have an interpreter present during questioning if needed.
If you are under 18 years old you should not be interviewed without a parent or an adult friend, a lawyer, or somebody from the Department for Child Protection. This is not essential if you are 16 or 17 and the offence is a minor matter, though the police must still try to contact your parents. You always have the right to remain silent.
You do not have to make or sign a statement. You do not have to respond to someone else's statement if it is shown to you. It is usually best not to sign anything until you have seen a lawyer.
If you have been arrested, the police may search you and seize anything they find. If the police wish to have you searched by a doctor, you have the right to have a doctor of your own choice present if it is practicable.
After you have been charged, you can be photographed, fingerprinted, asked to supply a sample of your handwriting or have your voice recorded. The police may also wish to take samples such as blood, hair, fingernails and saliva, or have you examined by a doctor or dentist. If you do not consent, tell the police and ask to speak to a lawyer, but do not resist.
If the police suspect you have committed a serious offence, they can take a DNA sample by mouth swab even if you have not been arrested or charged.
You may also be asked to participate in an identification line up. You do not have to consent, but you should seek legal advice.
Any person charged with an offence can apply for bail. Bail means that you may be released from custody on certain conditions, including that you promise to appear in court on certain days and at certain times. In some cases you may need a guarantor. A guarantor is a person who promises to pay an amount of money (called a ‘guarantee’ or ‘surety’) if you do not appear in court when required.
It is up to the police whether you are given bail immediately. If you are not given bail immediately, the police must take you to court as soon as possible. If it is evening you will go to court in the morning when you can ask for bail. Sometimes the court will refuse bail. If bail is refused, you may need to remain in custody until the charges against you are finalised.
Police security officers are appointed to protect certain people, places or vehicles. They are not police officers and cannot exercise the broad powers of the police. Police security officers have only those powers necessary to ensure the protection of the person, place or vehicle they are protecting.
A police security officer may, for example, ask you to produce identification and submit to a search if you are attempting to enter a protected place. If you do not comply, the police security officer may refuse you entry, remove you from the protected place and (if necessary) detain you until the police arrive. It is an offence to hinder or obstruct a police security officer in the course of their duties, refuse their lawful directions or provide a false identity.
If you think a police officer or police security officer has acted wrongly, you may tell them so, but you should not put up a struggle or argue the point. You can complain to any police officer (apart from the police officer you are complaining about) and they are required to receive your complaint and pass it on to the appropriate person. If you do not feel comfortable speaking to the police, you can complain to the Office for Public Integrity or talk to your lawyer.
If you are injured, arrange a medical examination and have some photographs taken as soon as possible. Contact witnesses who can attest to your condition before your arrest. Write down what happened, who did it (such as the police officer’s ID number or nickname), and when and where it all happened, while it is still fresh in your mind.
Call 1300 782 489
Email admin@opi.sa.gov.au
Call the Legal Helpline on 1300 366 424 during business hours for free legal advice if you have been searched, questioned, arrested or charged by police.
There is often a lawyer on call at the Magistrates Court called a duty lawyer. If you appear in court without a lawyer, ask to see the duty lawyer.
If you cannot afford a lawyer to represent you, call the Legal Helpline to learn about legal aid and how to apply.
21 October 2025
We embrace diversity and welcome all people, irrespective of culture, faith, sexual orientation and gender identity.
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Legal Services acknowledges Aboriginal people as the Traditional Owners and ongoing occupants of the lands and waters in South Australia and we respect their spiritual, cultural and heritage beliefs. We recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community and pay our deep respect to Elders past and present.
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