The majority of us are taught to believe the world operates like a school. If you’ve done something wrong, turn yourself in to the teachers — they’ll praise you for coming forward and give you a slap on the wrist compared to what would’ve happened if you hadn’t ‘fessed up. And while that may be the case at primary school, the same doesn’t hold true for the real world. The Police are not teachers, and they are certainly not your friends. It is their job to convict you.
If you know the Police are investigating an offence that you may be involved in, never turn yourself in. Here’s why:
1. You have no legal obligation to turn yourself in
It’s perfectly legal to do nothing until the Police come to you. In fact, it is your right to remain silent and NOT assist the police investigation.
Well, isn’t this perverting the course of justice? No — perverting the course of justice is when you take active steps in hindering a police investigation, which includes disposing of evidence, telling people how to avoid being caught, or lying to the Police about happened.
Sitting back and letting the Police come to you is simply letting nature take its course — the Police are there to investigate crimes, so let them investigate. It’s not your obligation to help them, as long as you don’t hinder them.
2. There is no penalty for not turning yourself in
People (and some lawyers) frequently confuse the sentencing discount from an early guilty plea and the act of turning yourself in. If you want to get technical, an early guilty plea is a mitigating factor at sentencing, but not turning yourself in is NOT an aggravating factor. In other words, it’s OK for you to not turn yourself in — the Court will NOT penalise you for it. And on the upside, there’s always the possibility that the Police may never come knocking.
Check out the guy who turned himself in for the death of another man in Panmure. We don’t know the circumstances of the assault. Perhaps it was a justifiable homicide. But either way, that guy has willing subjected himself to the risk of a criminal conviction, a long trial, expensive legal fees, and potential prison time, all because he turned himself in, which he had no legal obligation to do.
3. Turning yourself in is a practical admission of guilt
In my opinion, it’s a lot harder convincing a jury that you didn’t commit a crime when you turned yourself in to the Police. Is that what innocent people tend to do?