One of the oddest things to see is just what people are wearing when they get to jail. I have seen people in everything from a Wedding dress or Tux to nothing, and every imaginable combination in between. The point is that of course nobody plans to land in jail. The interesting part is to find out exactly what they were thinking at the time. Some of the answers may surprise you.
One of the more common things for women to wear believe it or not is a nightgown. Sound strange, it's not really. Let me share a typical scenario with you that will shed some light. It's late at night and you're at home relaxing after a long day. You have put your nightgown on, or whatever you wear to bed. You are having a couple beers and watching TV. You reach for a cigarette and discover that you ran out. You don't want to get dressed to go to the store, but you sure don't want to be without smokes. The store is just down the street on the corner. It's late and no one would be out. At least that's what you think. So you grab your keys and head out. You are a little excited and proud of yourself for being so adventuresome. You are being cautious and looking around to make sure no one sees you. You get to the store and run inside. To your surprise, there are people out, but they don't know you and you just don't care. You get your smokes and run back out to the car, just as a patrol car pulls into the parking lot. You get scared now; you fumble to find your keys. The cop gets out and approaches you. Miss, is there a problem. No sir, I just ran up here to get some cigarettes. May I see your license and registration? The scenario plays out and sure enough, there you are in intake in your night gown for DUI.
Care to try another one. Let's try that Tuxedo. Lets see, its' not as common, but it happens all the time. It's your wedding day; you're on top of the world, one minute and shaking in your shoes the next. You have surrounded yourself with a few friends to support you through this day. A couple drinks for the nerves. You get dressed and off to the church to take that big step. You drive of course because that always seems to calm you down. You're laughing and joking with your friends to ease the butterflies in your stomach. All of a sudden someone pulls out in front of you and you slam on your breaks. No good, it's too late. You smash right into the car. You jump out see the damages, and to chew that person's butt. Oh, God, the person in the other car is injured. You do what you can to help. Everything is surreal at this point. This is your wedding day, how did all this happen. Some one called the police and as they pull up, you're actually glad to see them. Remember, the accident wasn't your fault. You explain what happened to the Cop, and he asks for your information. You hand it over without a second thought. You can take the scenario from there. By the way, you missed your wedding.
Another fact that people really aren't aware of is that there are whole squads of officers that their only job is to make arrests on warrants. The best time to find people at home is in the middle of the night. You wake up with a couple cops standing over your bed and you get scared. What do people do when they are scared, they fight? That tends to make cops very cranky. Fight is over and you realize there is nothing you can do, so you ask if you can at least get dressed before you leave. To your surprise, the cop says no. He just spent 10 minutes fighting with you to get the cuffs on, do you honestly think he is going to take them off so you can put something on over your underwear.
You might wonder what a warrant actually means. There are a lot of misconceptions here. Any time someone gets a ticket for anything, and they don't do some thing about it, a warrant is issued. Tickets don't just disappear; they turn into warrants for Failure to Appear, or Failure to pay a fine.
You are having a quiet day at home, trying to get a few things done. Focusing on what you're doing, you don't notice that one of the kids let the dog out in the front yard. He takes off and runs toward one of the neighbors kids. You know the dog is just playing, but the kid doesn't. He gets scared and runs. Your dog thinks he is playing and chases him. His parents come out to rescue the kid. You get your dog. Words may or may not be exchanged and you take your pet back home. Chew your kids out for letting the dog out, and go back to what you were doing. Some time later, a cop pulls up and approaches you. Do you have a dog? Yes sir. Did he attack your neighbor's son? Of course he didn't. You try to explain, but it's no use. You get a ticket for Dog at Large. You are furious. You storm in the house gripping and grumbling. You may or may not look at the ticket. Then you through it in a drawer and forget it. Several months later same situation, you are puttering around your house, dog gets out, chases the kid….This time there is an argument. The neighbor goes into the house and calls the cops. You not scared. You're in the right. This guy is being a jerk. The police show up. Get the story from both of you. The cop actually believes you and understands how frustrating living around someone like that could be. Then he runs your name just because it's part of his job. Sure enough there is that warrant for your arrest, Failure to appear for Dog at Large. You're going to jail. It doesn't matter how nice that cop is, it's his job. By law anyone they encounter that has a warrant is to be arrested.
So, what am I saying? Should you plan your day around the possibility of being arrested? Of course not, but as you can see in each one of these scenarios, the situation could have been avoided with just a little bit of forethought. I could go on and on about some of the crazy situations people find themselves in. The bottom line is, no one plans to go to jail, but maybe it wouldn't hurt if the thought crossed your mind once in a while.
