Arrested on Vacation
There was an Interesting Article on Vice.com about getting arrested on Holiday, which is British for vacation. The excerpt below shows a few examples of what can happen when you’re just trying to have fun while traveling:
Getting arrested is not a pleasant experience. Handcuffs are uncomfortable, arresting officers are never up for a proper chat, and police cars are essentially the Dyson V6’s of vibes, sucking all the fun out of your night and transporting you to a tiny little room with only a metal toilet and a buzzing strip-light for company.
But what happens if you’re stupid enough to get arrested on vacation? How does it feel to be locked up 300 miles from home with not enough change in your pocket for an international call? What if you don’t speak the language and none of the nearby officers will speak to you in your mother tongue because you’ve just been a massive dick to all of them? What then?
To find out, I asked some people who’ve been arrested on vacation about their experiences.
Harry, 30
In 2009 I went to a festival near Zadar, Croatia. It was just when the festival scene had really started to kick off there. I was on a secluded spot on the beach with a few friends and the party paraphernalia got pulled out. Suddenly, I saw a flashlight over my shoulder. The two men grabbed me and started shouting at me in broken English. They were undercover cops who’d been sitting behind us…
They stuck me in a grimy cell with blood all over the walls, no toilet, no food, nothing. I…
I was there for two days, in a cell with six Croatian dudes.
Nilu, 26 – Arrested on Vacation
I was in Guatemala, the [toilet] attendant told me I needed to pay to use the toilet.
We all got back on the bus to leave. The bus started to pull out… then it pulled back in. The woman got on the bus, this time with the police. She’d told them I’d stolen a lot of money from her. They dragged me off the bus, and it was then I realized that I didn’t have anywhere near enough Spanish to explain this, or any money to pay for what she told them I’d stolen from her.
Luckily, If you happen to run afoul the law on the Grand Strand, you’ll be in a modern facility and be treated humanely. You might however have consequences that will follow you home and make your life less than pleasant in the future if you’re arrested on vacation.
And if you happen to be arrested on a weekend, you might have a few days before you even get a chance to see the judge and have bail set. That’s why you should Download My card, print it, and have it with you just in case. The card also has a few local regulations on it so you know the things that might get you in trouble in North Myrtle Beach.