If police officers ring at the door, this is not a reason to immediately open and let them on the threshold. Firstly, you need to follow the safety rules even with representatives of law enforcement agencies, and secondly, you should first find out the reason for such a visit.
There are many reasons for police officers to knock on the apartments of civilians: checking documents or suspicious apartments, and visiting a precinct, and warning citizens about security measures, and any emergency such as an investigation or a request for help. In any case, you cannot be a gullible citizen and before you open the door, you need to make sure that there are really police officers behind it. To do this, ask to present documents and show them through the peephole, give the last name, first name and patronymic. If possible, it is best to call the station and ask the dispatcher if such law enforcement officers really work there. After that, the door can be opened and all questions of interest can be answered.
Tenant rights
However, it is not necessary to do this if you do not want it or you are not sure of the need for such an action. The police have no right to demand that you open the door or, moreover, break into the apartment without a serious justification, as well as documents confirming this justification. There are only four cases when a police officer can enter an apartment without the consent of the resident: if there is a threat to the life and health of a person or his property, to detain persons suspected of committing a crime, in order to prevent this crime from being committed, that is, in an attempt to stop him, as well as in order to establish the circumstances of an already occurred crime or accident. In all other situations, access to the apartment for the policeman is closed, so even if you are at home, he can not be opened. This is especially true for those people who are afraid of police raids on apartments in order to reveal illegal residence without registration or rental housing without appropriate confirmation from the tax authorities. In this case, you can legally call you from the apartment only by a subpoena to the police station.
Help the police
However, such rules, which should teach citizens to remain vigilant and know their rights when dealing with police officers, still do not deny situations when they may simply need your help. Police officers are the same people, they must fulfill their duties and often do it in the shortest possible time. They can find a lost old man, ask about neighbors, suspicious persons or incidents. And your help can be very useful to them. Therefore, you should ask the police officer about the purpose of the visit and, if possible, provide him with support in this situation.
