August 2026

This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays: Calling In Your Own Arrest

The right to silence is the single most underused right in the whole justice system. It costs nothing and requires no paperwork. It does not need to be argued in front of a judge. All it asks is that you close your mouth, and yet week after week I read police reports where somebody has decided that this is the one moment in life to be forthcoming.

A few weeks ago in this space I wrote about people who were caught out by their own gadgets, the AirPods and AirTags that kept broadcasting after their owners would have preferred a little discretion. This week the humans decided they did not want to be outdone by their electronics. Four people, in four places, handed the police everything they needed. One of them used the emergency line to do it. Before we start, the usual reminder with a British Columbia flavour. If you are lawfully stopped and an officer makes a valid demand for a breath sample, you have to provide it. That part is not optional and refusing carries its own penalties. What is optional is the running commentary. Nobody has ever been charged with failing to explain their evening. With that distinction firmly in mind, let us begin.

Weird and Wacky Wednesdays: Volume 412Read More »