If I Have A Question About A Law Who Should I Call. Could I Call The Sheriffs Office

If you call the cops and ask them a question can the cops arrest you?

Don’t dial 911 to ask non emergency questions. Find out the NON Emergency number of the agency and call that number instead. The call will usually go to the same people in the same Communications Center. You will be much more likely to get an answer to your non emergency question calling the non emergency number (besides not tying up resources that could be important at that moment for an actual emergency caller).

Will the sheriffs department call my probation officer if they feel I broke the law but have no proof?

There are thresholds of certainty built in to the criminal justice system.  The state can't take certain action unless they can prove wrongdoing to the corresponding threshold of certainty.For example, you're probably familiar with the highest threshold of certainty:  proof beyond a reasonable doubt.  The state can't convict you (and subsequently deprive you of life or liberty) without establishing you've committed a crime to that level of certainty.But there are lower thresholds down the line.  For example, the state (through its duly appointed police officers) can get a warrant to search your stuff based on establishing "probable cause," a much lower threshold.  Although the phrase "proof" doesn't have a specific legal definition, in general usage establishing probable cause that a crime has been committed is less than having proof of that crime.  There are even lower thresholds.  The police can take other, less invasive action based on an "articulable, reasonable suspicion."  Such action includes, for example, briefly stopping you on the street for an interview.  This is even a lower standard than probable cause, although it's higher than a generalized "hunch" that can't be explained in any detail.You might notice a pattern:  the more severe the action the state wants to take, the higher the threshold of certainty it has to meet.  If it's locking you up, it has to meet a very high threshold.  If it wants to search your stuff, it has to meet a moderate threshold.  If it just wants to stop and chat, it has to meet a low threshold.In your case, the action you're complaining about is one law enforcement officer calling another.  This action isn't severe at all, in terms of depriving you of freedom or property.  In fact, generally there's no way for you to even know such a call was made.  There's no reason for two law enforcement officers not to talk.Now, maybe you meant to ask something more.  Maybe you don't have a problem with these guys talking, but maybe you're in a scenario where one says to the other, "I think he's violating his parole by doing so-and-so."  Now we're back into that threshold of certainty.  Is the parole officer taking any action that requires a showing beyond mere suspicion?  If so, then perhaps you're on to something.But it's unlikely.  A parolee often consents, as a condition of parole, to let his probation officer do all kinds of stuff he wouldn't otherwise be allowed to do.

Can the state police respond to 911 calls?

In Illinois, where I live, if you call 911 and the dispatcher determines that the issue about which you are calling is on one of the highways where the State Police is primary, they will transfer you to the state police dispatcher for the relevant district.I’ve called 911 many times to report hazardous road conditions (a friend of mine who is a retired police officer gave us advice on things we should report to 911, and I follow his directions in this regard), and almost invariably my call is routed initially to one of the county or city 911 centers, but they always transfer the call to the appropriate district of the State Police, who takes the report and dispatches either an officer or a highway service vehicle, as is appropriate to the report (officer for an accident or stalled vehicle, highway service for dangerous debris).In every state whose law I’ve looked at, the state police has full plenary law enforcement authority throughout the entire state. In some states, the state police have agreements not to enforce traffic law in areas covered by a municipal police department, and may also have agreements with sheriff’s departments regarding primary authority on county highways outside municipalities, but this is more about budget and manpower management than citizen’s rights.In addition, while a law enforcement officer may not have the authority to enforce the law outside of their jurisdiction, they do have the the authority to render aid anywhere they happen to be. I’ve seen Iowa state troopers render aid and assistance in Illinois on the immediate east bank of the Mississippi River. Officers from both states cross the bridges routinely on patrol, because the jurisdictional line is midway down the river in many places, turning around when they reach the other side and returning to their home state. But if they should find someone needing aid on the “wrong” side of the river, they’re not going to let that stop them from offering aid. And officers on both sides of the river have means to contact officers from the other side, either directly or through their dispatchers.

Would it be stupid to call and ask law enforcement if I’m under surveillance?

As almost always, It Depends™’.As many others have said, if you are under police surveillance, they aren't going to tell you. Obviously.If you have reasonable evidence that someone is following you or monitoring your activities, contacting law enforcement about that is probably a smart move—especially if the party doing it are identifying themselves as law enforcement officers.If you are under police surveillance, that will not gain you anything—except for the officers doing it being replaced with more competent ones, maybe. If you aren't, they may very well want to inquire into who’s stalking you, especially if they're posing as law enforcement officers. Most police I've come across take a very dim view of third parties impersonating police for whatever (usually unsavoury) purpose.In that case, it might be a good idea to phrase it a bit differently than ‘hey, do you guys have a particularly incompetent surveillance team on me?’, though.Maybe something along the lines of: ‘I've gotten the impression that someone is stalking me, here's a log of the suspicious activity on my email account, testimony by my neighbours and colleagues that someone identifying as police keeps asking questions about me, and the bug I found in my living room. I'd like to file a complaint.’ would be a more viable option.Of course, if you don't have any objective evidence, or even reasonable suspicion that someone is, indeed, doing that sort of thing, they're likely to nod a lot, make polite noises, take some notes and forget about it the moment you leave the station.

What should I do if an "officer of the court" knocks on my door? An unidentified man with a laminated badge has come by my apartment 4 times so far. When I was home, I ignored him. He says he’s an "officer of the court" and asked for me by name.

The term "officer of the court" could mean anyone from the Chief Justice of the United States to a real estate lawyer to a cop to a process server, and a whole bunch of folks in between. That's in the United States. Presuming the full Supreme Court or Queen's Bench hasn't decided to stop by for a beer, whoever's knocking at the door is most likely attempting service of something legal-like. Or he's selling laminated badges."Apartment" suggests the US. That the door is still standing suggests he's likely not a cop. And, as John Roberts generally doesn't make house calls, the best guess is he's a process server. Or a creep. Or both. Here's an idea. Next time, ask. Just shout the question at him through the door. Although it varies by states, in many jurisdictions no plastic laminated badge is needed to serve papers on someone. It could be an off-duty deputy sheriff making a few extra bucks. Or just some guy hired by a lawyer. You might want to find out. Or maybe you already have a hunch. Either way, you can leave the door closed.A legitimate process server will provide you with a name and a phone number you can call to effect service. It's often useful to know if you're being sued, if you're being subpoenaed, if your rich Uncle Henry has left you his fortune or some guy is trying to break into your apartment and steal your stuff. Get a number, call and find out. Presuming you're not being robbed, you're going to be served those papers one way or another. In fact, simply tossing them at your closed door and shouting "you're served" works in many jurisdictions. There's also the ever-popular "service by publication" done via a legal ad in a newspaper. This allows all your family, friends and neighbors to know you're being sued! Ducking service, if that's what's happening here, isn't always the greatest idea. Just make sure that's what's actually happening.