When you’re talking to the police, don’t assume that they’re telling the truth. It may feel like the police should be honest with you during an interrogation or when they are questioning you – even if it is as simple as asking questions during a traffic stop – but that’s not always the case. In fact, there is no legal obligation for the police to be honest at all.
In some cases, reports have found that police officers will lie to suspects in order to get them to admit to committing a crime. Proponents of these tactics often believe that this is just a good use of pressure in order to get a suspect to admit to what they did wrong. But these same studies have found that there are many cases in which people will actually give false confessions due to the pressure that they’re facing. They are being manipulated so they will admit to things that they never did.
So what should you do?
You certainly don’t want to admit to committing a crime that you had nothing to do with, but you may even be worried about accidentally incriminating yourself just by saying the wrong thing while talking to the police.
If you are, remember that you have a right to remain silent. You do not have to answer the questions that a police officer asks, and you cannot be arrested simply for refusing to do so. You can also tell the police officers that, if you are going to go through an interrogation, you would like to have your legal team present when you do. It is certainly important to understand all of your legal options if you’re facing serious criminal charges.