In What Circumstances Can the Police Stop Me?!

In What Circumstances Can the Police Stop Me?!

Briefly, in the previous article ("The Conflict Between Individual Freedom and Public Order"), I tried to simply explain the conflict that exists between individual freedom and the Law on Police, and briefly outlined how the law itself views the ways to resolve it. In this article, I will try to explain even more simply a few types of police measures related to stopping a person and taking their photo or video. In order for the police to fulfill the obligation (and not the right) imposed on them, the following must be present:

a) Danger of encroachment on public security;
b) The necessity of preventing a threat to public order;
c) And in accordance with each of these, police action must be directed at the goal of preventing the said conditions (a and b) both together and separately. That is: danger may be present but necessity may not, and vice versa; it is not necessary for both to be present, but the goal of the measure the police resorts to must align with this purpose;

This time, I will discuss the legal grounds for questioning and identifying a person, and what the police can implement. However, the execution of any such action must still comply with the aforementioned legal provisions;

For the police to use the right granted to them and question a person (i.e., a police officer stops you on the street and asks you something), the following conditions must exist:
a) They must be protecting public security (i.e., fulfilling the right-obligation imposed on them by the state). This condition is mandatory—it must definitely exist, and to it must be added one of the conditions listed below:
a.a.) You must have physical features similar to a wanted or missing person;
a.b.) They must have sufficient grounds or a reasonable assumption that you have committed or are going to commit an offense (this is an evaluative category and mostly depends on factual circumstances);
a.c.) You must be located in a territory or facility subject to a special regime, or in a place where special police control is being conducted;
a.d.) You are carrying a weapon that requires a special permit under the conditions defined by the Law of Georgia "On Weapons," and it is otherwise impossible to establish the right to carry it;
a.e.) You are at the scene of a crime, a traffic accident, or another emergency;
a.f.) The physical features of you or your vehicle, or your actions, indicate your possible involvement in an offense;

In addition to the aforementioned condition, which must exist simultaneously, the following condition must also be present (i.e., the police are authorized to act if):
b) There is a sufficient ground/assumption (meaning the police must have a ground);
c) That you have information that will help in the performance of police activities;

Now, to simplify even further, for the police to stop you (I will explain with an example):
They must be maintaining order;
You must physically resemble a wanted person;
They must have sufficient grounds to stop you;
They must presume that you might have information regarding this.
That is, these conditions must be present together, simultaneously, for your stop to be legal;
(There is also an interesting provision in the Police Code of Ethics itself, which states that when interacting with the public: "During the performance of official duties, when communicating with a citizen, a police officer is prohibited from: smoking a cigarette, chewing gum, talking on a mobile phone, speaking from a car, wearing sunglasses, and being in an untidy state" — please take note);

Besides the 4 conditions mentioned above, I must emphasize (the legal provision is as follows):
a) The provision of information by the person is voluntary, and the police themselves must explain this to you;
b) The police must explain to you the basis for implementing the police measure (i.e., the incident, date, place, circumstances, etc., except when this would prevent the police from performing the functions imposed by this law).
In the case of questioning, when at least these 6 conditions must coincide, the issue of your (the person's) identification may arise. In such a case, additional conditions come into play:
The case mentioned from a.a. to a.f. must be present;
1.a.) It is impossible through questioning;
1.b.) Or it is associated with special difficulties;
1.c.) Or its implementation is impossible;
1.d.) Or the identification of the person is necessary for the prevention of offenses;
1.e.) Or there is sufficient ground to assume that this person has a direct connection with the committed offense;

If condition "1" is present alongside any of the conditions from 1.a. to 1.e., the police may resort to the following identification measures:
a) Taking fingerprints and palm prints;
b) Taking a photograph;
c) Recording characteristic physical features;
d) Measuring height;
e) Voice recording;
f) Recording other biometric data;

Besides this, none of the above-mentioned measures should be carried out unless the person is given the opportunity to confirm their identity, for which they must be given a reasonable term. That is, for someone to demand that you take a photo immediately without a reasonable term (which is a common occurrence) is inadmissible and illegal;

In addition to carrying out the identification, a protocol must absolutely be drawn up for it, which must indicate the following dаta:
a) The basis for implementing the measure;
b) Important factual circumstances;
c) The protocol of personal identification is signed by the police officer implementing the measure and the addressee of the measure. 
To explain simply, for someone to take a photo of you, all the above-listed conditions must be present, and furthermore, these conditions must exist together and not separately, to give the police the opportunity to identify you. The police do not have the right, unless all the above-listed conditions exist together, to:

Take a photo of you;
Take a photo of your ID card;
Check your identity;
Demand anything from you without explanation;
Resort to any type of police measure if the necessary conditions for it do not exist;
Address you with a question or demand any information about you if the necessary legal preconditions for it do not exist;