Unless you’ve studied or had experience with regards to criminal proceedings and arrests, no one’s ever prepared to receive a call from a loved one or the police department that a friend or family member’s been arrested and needs your help. This lack of knowledge and preparation can lead to poor panic, poor decisions, and unnecessary delays with regards to the release of your loved one who’s currently behind bars. That said, we’ll be taking a look at tips on what to do to help your arrested friend or family member.
Keep Calm and Don’t Argue or Reprimand
First off, breathe. Your loved one is already stressed out from getting arrested, and arguing and reprimanding them isn’t going to help anyone. Save your anger and disappointment later; you’ll have a lot of time to talk after you get them out of jail. But for now, you’ll want to focus to absorb as much information as possible and make the right decisions. It would also go a long way if you could maintain a supportive and concerned attitude also to help them calm down so they’d give you all the information you’ll need. That said…
Get and Write Down the Basics
First off, you’ll need to determine where your loved one is being held. Ask them for the specific address so you can easily locate them. Next, ask them what they’re charged with and when they were arrested. An important tip to remember is that you shouldn’t allow them to provide any information with regards to what happened as the call may be recorded or monitored for later use. Tell them only to provide you the charge and the time and date of arrest, and that they should only talk to their attorney with regards to the details of the incident and not to the police officer.
However, if it’s a police officer or someone in the enforcement agency who’s informing you about the arrest, ask them the same information, don’t give out any details (which may implicate your loved one), and tell them that you’re going to get a lawyer and that they should not question them any further until the lawyer arrives.
Advice and Assurance
Continue to reassure your loved one that you’ll be there and that you’ll be calling a criminal defense attorney to help them out. You should always reiterate that they shouldn’t give any details about the case to questioning police officers or detectives and should wait for their attorney.
Call Your Criminal Defense Attorney
Proceed to contact a criminal defense attorney to help you out with your loved one’s case. It’s best to find one who specializes in the crime they’re charged with. For example, if your loved one was arrested because of a DUI, then call a DUI attorney. Provide as much information to your attorney and request them to call the police station or county jail where your friend is held so that they can inform the police to cease questioning the suspect.
Post Bail
Your next step should be to get your loved one out of jail as soon as possible. This is done by paying the bail amount, after which your loved one would be released. This amount varies depending on the circumstances of the case. So, if you’re short on cash, or find wish to find the fastest way to get your loved one out of jail, you should find and contact your local bail bonds service in Summit County to help you post bail and facilitate all the paperwork needed have your loved one released quickly.
Conclusion
At this point, you’ve already done your part, the next steps, such as attending the hearing and case proceedings, would be taken between your loved one and their lawyer. But of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t help out in other ways such as providing emotional support. So, the next time you receive a call at the middle of the night from the police station, make sure you keep these steps and tips in mind.
