What Happens when Military Police Arrest Military Members

***This article is written based on the experiences of one man. It is not meant as any form of legal advice. The reader with legal questions should consult an attorney in their area. Only the reader is responsible for their actions.***

Before getting started it should be understood that military police never make an "arrest," they either make an "apprehension" or a "detention." The three words mean pretty much the same thing as far as a suspect being restrained from free movement is concerned, but the words are actually used to differentiate between various legal rules that affect jurisdictional boundaries of law enforcement officers.

In the event that a military member is accused of a crime, the following will usually happen:

The military police will respond and attempt to locate the suspect.

The suspect will be handcuffed, searched as a result of his apprehension for harmful items or evidence of the crime in question, placed in a military police cruiser, and read his rights according to Article 31 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) from a rights advisement card. Depending on how many military police officers are available to assist with the investigation the suspect may or may not be required to wait at the scene in the back seat of the cruiser while witnesses are interviewed and statements are completed.

When the arresting military police officer is ready to transport the suspect he will notify his dispatcher that he will be transporting the suspect from the scene of the incident to the military police station. The military police officer will also announce his arrival to the dispatcher via the radio.

The suspect will be escorted from the cruiser to a holding cell of some kind. Depending on the level of security which the holding area offers, the handcuffs may or may not be removed.

The military police officer will secure the suspect and begin compiling necessary paperwork for his report. He will re-advise the suspect of his Article 31 rights in accordance with the UCMJ via a written form that will be signed by the suspect. The signature of the suspect does not constitute an admission of guilt only acknowledges that he understands his rights as presented to him.

The suspect will have the option of making a statement or answering questions, but he will maintain the right to remain silent. If he agrees to answer questions he may stop the questioning at any time. Should he agree to provide a statement he may stop providing that statement at any time.

When the statements have been completed and the questions have been answered (if so desired by the suspect), then he will be prepped for release.

The military police officer may detain the military suspect for as long as is reasonably necessary to complete the required paperwork. Most military police officers will only hold their suspects for as long as is necessary to gather the information they will need to complete their report.

If the military member is cooperative and non-violent then he may be released to a superior member of his chain of command. The military member may be detained for as long as it takes to locate a member of his chain of command.

If the military member is a danger to himself or others then he may be returned to the holding area so he may calm down, transported to a more secure facility at another local installation or civilian facility, or transported to a hospital and released to medical personnel.

Most military suspects are released to a very angry and very intimidating member of their chain of command.

Nine times out of ten, this is the last contact that the suspect has with the military police. In most instances the offender is punished by his chain of command for his actions. In rare instances or when crimes are especially damaging, the case may go to military courts martial where the suspect may face his accusers, cross examine witnesses, and even question the arresting military police officer. This process is generally very costly and requires quite a number of people to miss work while they testify. Most Commanders will offer a reduced punishment to military members for most offenses when it appears fairly obvious that the suspect would never win at trial. No matter what kind or how much evidence the Commander may have against his troop, however, the suspect will always maintain the right to a trial whenever he is suspected of a crime.

Military Commanders have the authority to restrict their personnel to the installation, force a military member and his family to move off of an installation, assign extra duty to the member, garnish the member's pay, order the member to correctional custody (temporary confinement), and much more. The authority of the military Commander is vast, but the authority of a military courts martial is even more vast. Military courts martial may send the suspect away to a military prison far from the member's home. Most military members would rather forfeit their pay and take a demotion than spend the next few months in a brig pushing a broom and folding the sheets.

Even with all of that authority staring at them in the face, many military members who do not feel that enough evidence exists to warrant a punishment will take their chances at trial.

Military police are authorized by U.S. law to apprehend any military member for any violation of a military law at any time in any country in the world. Even when a military police officer apprehends a suspect, it does not mean that civilian charges won't be filed against the suspect. Likewise, when a civilian police officer arrests a military member, it does not mean that the military won't pursue charges for violations of military law. For example, a military member who is arrested off base for having sex with a prostitute in his car may have to go to civilian court to answer to charges of solicitation of a prostitute, lewd behavior, and / or indecent exposure as well a military court to answer to charges of adultery (which is a crime under U.S. military law).

In the event that a military police agency and a civilian police agency both want to take a suspect into custody, the agency that will be pressing the most serious charges will generally take custody. Some jurisdictions may also hand over custody of a suspect to which ever agency first attempted to make contact with the suspect. The agency to first take custody will eventually release the suspect to the second agency so that they may charge him as well.

There is no form of bail bonds in the military justice system. Military members who fail to go to court may be pursued and charged with unauthorized absence, being absent without leave, or desertion.

Unless the suspect hires a civilian attorney, the entire case of a military offender will often be handled from start to finish by military personnel.