It all starts with the screaming of sirens. The next thing you know, an officer is shouting, in your face and slapping handcuffs around your wrists. In the end, you stare pitifully from behind bars, clothed in the customary black and white striped get-up, your mug shot plastered on the front page of every newspaper.
Even for those of us who have been arrested, a combination of television and folklore has developed a basic sketch of the process in our minds. Predictably, it turns out that this fantasy is only loosely based on truth. In reality, the circumstances of an arrest depend on the severity of the crime you’ve committed, how compliant you are and who is arresting you.
Geneseo Village Police Chief Eric Osganian cited 99 arrests on record in just the past month, the majority of which occurred from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. He stressed that there is more to an arrest than just taking someone to the police station.
“Building a case is like building a house,” he said.
Osganian cited the example of a man accused of shoplifting from stores on Main Street on Friday Sept. 23. The process of the arrest took about an hour and a half. Officers had to obtain statements from the store owners, find the suspect and then detain and interview him before they could actually transport him to the police station. Although in this case, the suspect was handcuffed, Osganian affirmed that the Village Police only handcuff suspects who are resistant to arrest.
“99 percent of the time, we won’t put handcuffs on [a suspect] for an open container,” Osganian said.
Lieutenant Matthew Austin of University Police Department said that most arrests tend to happen during the first semester and described an arrest as a process rather than an incident. UPD enforces a handcuffing policy for all arrests.
Austin emphasized that the work of UPD is “part of the education process too” and that he will often “steer [arrested students] toward what the college has to offer” in order to avoid a second arrest. He went on to explain the increased police presence this semester.
“Basically, we are just trying to make sure people don’t commit crimes. We are present to prevent people from doing what they would if they didn’t think we were around.”
Predicting what to expect when being arrested is not easy. Just like many other things in college, if you do end up being arrested, it will be a learning experience.