Being arrested can be an extremely worrisome and stressful process. Whether you are guilty of the crime in question or not, you will still have to deal with questioning from the arresting officer. The more you know about the police interrogation process, the easier it will be to avoid incriminating yourself.
Experts believe that nearly 29% of all wrongful convictions occur as a result of false confessions. These confessions are usually secured through forceful and evasive tactics by police. Read below to find out more about the police interrogation process and how to get through this experience virtually unscathed.
Police Officers Use Various Ploys To Get Confessions
The average police officer goes through extensive interrogation training. The officers that land investigator jobs are masters at getting civilians to talk about crimes they’ve committed. In some cases, the tactics taught to these investigators are used to coerce a confession out of innocent people. Detectives tend to use two main ploys when trying to get a confession.
Confess and We’ll Let You Go
Some police interrogations can last for hours. The longer an innocent person is worn down mentally, the easier it becomes for an investigator to get a confession whether it is true or not. After a suspect has been detained and interrogated for a few hours, investigators might start to tell them that they need to know what happened and then they will let the suspect go. In reality, this is a ploy used to get details about a crime and strengthen the investigator’s case.
The Old Good Cop/Bad Cop Routine
If you have watched true crime shows on television show, you are probably familiar with the good cop/bad cop interrogation ploy. This ploy usually involves two investigators. One investigator will act like they are trying to help out the suspect being questioned. The other investigator will take a more aggressive stance and try to scare the suspect. If you are confronted with the good cop/bad cop ploy, you need to be careful about what you say without a lawyer present.
Invoke Your Right To Counsel Immediately
The laws in the United States require for all police interrogation to stop immediately if a suspect invokes their right to legal counsel. The longer you wait to use this right, the higher the risk becomes of you saying something incriminating. This is why you need to refuse to answer any questions from investigators until your lawyer is present.
Once you have a lawyer by your side, you can get advice on which questions to answer. Your lawyer can help you avoid saying anything incriminating and will help you figure out what rights you have. With their help and guidance, you might be able to get the charges against you thrown out if they are unwarranted.
Instead of allowing the stress of being arrested to get in the way of good decision-making, you need to take a minute to gather your thoughts. Reaching out to a legal professional will help you get through the police interrogation process with ease.