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Say one was running along the road, and a police officer shouts "Oi". As I understand it you have no legal requirement to engage with them, and can continue your run. This seems to be consistent with the government guidance on being asked to identify yourself:

A police officer might stop you and ask: what your name is, what you’re doing in the area, where you’re going. You don’t have to stop or answer any questions. If you don’t and there’s no other reason to suspect you, then this alone can’t be used as a reason to search or arrest you.

However, if they shout "I am a police officer, you are under arrest for [specific crime], I am arresting you because [why it’s necessary to arrest you] and you are not free to leave" then you are required to stop your run and engage with the police. The same would be true of a stop and search with slightly different things they must say. However, unless they are very good at talking and running by the time they have said all that you are likely to be out of hearing range.

At what point in such an encounter are you required to engage with the police, or at what point does continuing your run become resisting arrest? It was suggested in the comments that the threshold for the police legally using violence could be different than the threshold for criminality, if such is the case that would be a great addition to the answer.

It has been suggested that this question may answer mine. The linked question is about what information you have to provide once you are interacting with the police, my question is about what point you have to interact with police.

User65535
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    See also Do you have to follow all the orders a police officer gives?. I think that's a U.S. perspective, though. In my opinion, just the word "oi" is not an order to do anything; it's just a word to get your attention. If he said "stop!", "wait!", "halt!" or some other clear order like that, then the situation may be different. – Brandin Sep 27 '22 at 09:37
  • The call out "Oi!" might be anything from an Austrian "Hello [your name]" over "Careful, eyes on the road/where you go!" to "Hey! Slow down a tad!" – Trish Sep 27 '22 at 09:48
  • For the purpose of this question does the detainee always know that the person shouting is a police officer and that they are shouting at the detainee? – IllusiveBrian Sep 27 '22 at 10:13
  • @IllusiveBrian This is purely hypothetical. If there are details that make the difference between crime and non-crime then those would be great in an answer. – User65535 Sep 27 '22 at 10:26
  • @Brandin As I understand it the answer to this question would be very different in the US and the UK. I am particularly interested in the situation in the UK, but of course answers siting different jurisdictions are welcome. – User65535 Sep 27 '22 at 10:29
  • The situation needs to be clarified. Is the officer really trying to arrest the runner? Did the runner really understand that it's a police officer and that the officer is trying to detain him? Or is plausible that the runner just saw some unknown dude who said "oi" to him and decided to continue his run? If it's a trained police officer, I imagine he will have been trained on how to establish communication with someone who's not responding. Perhaps escalating to hand signals first, and then to physical restraint, and possibly to use of tasers or other weapons if the situation calls for it. – Brandin Sep 27 '22 at 12:06
  • @Brandin I am considering this from the point of view of the runner. He will not know what the police officer wants to do unless they say. That said, if the answer to the question is that it depends on the officers state of mind then that is the answer. My "oi" example was just what I could think of at one end of the spectrum where one would not need to do anything, but I could be wrong. The point about the potential use of violence is very relevant, if the threshold for this is different than the threshold for criminality then that would be a great addition to the answer (I will add to Q) – User65535 Sep 27 '22 at 12:19
  • See my answer to this question - https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/84459/when-is-one-required-to-provide-ones-name-and-dob-to-the-police-if-one-wishes-t/84460#84460 – Neil Meyer Sep 27 '22 at 12:34
  • Does this answer your question? When is one required to provide one's name and DOB to the police if one wishes to avoid arrest? – Neil Meyer Sep 27 '22 at 12:34
  • @NeilMeyer Not really, it seems to be from the point where this question ends, if the police have detained you what do you need to tell them. – User65535 Sep 27 '22 at 12:39
  • For the "running away" scenario in which the officer tells you to stop, there is probably sufficient question and answer in this previous post: Is it illegal to run away from a police officer in a way that provokes them, in the US? Again, U.S. perspective, but the key there is that the officer has to give you a lawful order. I think it's similar in the UK. "Oi" is not an order. – Brandin Sep 27 '22 at 12:58
  • @Brandin My understanding is that this is not the case in the UK, for you to be required to obey an order from the police the order must be backed by specific legislation. In particular, I THINK that if the police tell you to stop running (with nothing else) you are not required to stop running. – User65535 Sep 27 '22 at 13:05
  • Then I recommend you simplify/rename the question to that exact scenario, e.g. "UK, If you are currently running and the police order you to stop running, are you required to stop running?" It seems like you are under the impression that (UK) police are required to say specific words to stop you, but I would be surprised if that's the case. The actual words or signals used to stop someone will depend on the situation. For example if the runner has headphones in and can't hear anyone, then maybe no amount of words are going to deliver the message, so the officer needs to use some other signal. – Brandin Sep 27 '22 at 13:11
  • @Brandin If you look at the link under If they shout and the related link under stop and search there is a government web site that indicates that the UK police are required to say specific words to stop you. If them shouting "Stop" is enough then that is the answer. I think it is not, BICBW. This is very different if one was driving a car, hence I have specified someone on foot. What happens if the subject cannot hear the required words is a separate question. – User65535 Sep 27 '22 at 13:15
  • @Brandin More specifically this government site says "A police officer might stop you and ask [some questions] You don’t have to stop or answer any questions." – User65535 Sep 27 '22 at 13:17
  • I don't think this is a duplicate and I think OP has established this quite well and amply. – JosephCorrectEnglishPronouns Sep 27 '22 at 19:29

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