Can the police take my cell phone if they are investigating a crime?
Whitney S. Boan Protecting Your Right
Video Transcript
The police have certain situations under which they may be able to take your cell phone as evidence if they are investigating a crime. However, certainly if the police ask you whether or not you will let them have your phone or you will even let them look in your phone, you should never say yes unless you’ve already spoken with a lawyer and you understand the implications of what you’re doing. The best advice I can give is when in doubt, do not give the police that information. If they have a warrant, that’s different. You have no means of stopping them, legally, at least at that juncture, from getting inside your phone. If they’re doing it illegally, a lawyer can always challenge that later in court. It’s better, though, that as a rule of thumb you reserve any information that you think even might be helpful to them until after you’ve spoken with a lawyer who can advise you what to do next.