The law dealing with arrest and interrogation in Victoria is complicated. It is designed to strike a proper balance between individual rights on the one hand and the community's need for effective law enforcement on the other. Situations where a person's rights are not observed are common and it is difficult to do anything about this. The best way to make sure your rights are observed is to know what they are and to speak out if a problem arises. Remember, many people are convicted because of admissions they have made to police.

Particular problems may be encountered by people who have an intellectual or psychiatric disability or mental impairment. See: Chapter 3*1 Disability and Criminal Justice.

In dealing with the police the major rights and obligations you have are:

An important rule in this area is the privilege against self-incrimination. However, this rule's importance is diminishing, due to an increasing number of statutory exceptions, the most important being:

With these major exceptions, you have the right not to do or say anything which might provide evidence which could later be used against you. While this rule should always be kept in mind, there are some situations in which it is nonetheless sensible for a suspected person to co-operate with police.