In England it is..........at the moment ,how long that will last is anybodys guess though..... Big Brother lurks behind every corner and it can only get worse,not better....
I wouldn't risk it. Some police are just a little too wired, traumatized and hair-triggered. I'd keep both hands where they can be seen and speak very respectfully. I'd answer every question with 100% honesty and obey every instruction. If I had to move I'd say what I'm about to do and then do it very slowly, smoothly and gently.
Sounds like you live in a prison state....I've never been to any places in Europe where the public risk their lives from just talking to their police....you must risk your lives each day by just going out... Many of our English police are arrogant and just thugs,thankfully most are not ,but you can only tell when they start talking..
Various body language signals can trigger responses from observers, and police officers are no exception. In the Marine Corps, we used to have a saying, “Uncross your arms, you’re not in charge of anything here.” When a senior person and a subordinate (for lack of a better term) interact, crossing one’s arms has meaning, as simple as that. It can signal defiance, anger, apathy, defensiveness, fear, self-protection, stubbornness, superiority, inferiority, standoffishness, fight-or-flight, evasiveness, avoidance, etc. As such, answering your question requires more context, it all depends not only on the situation, but also the reasons the arms are being folded and the perception of the observer.
inky 