You may have heard people say that you should never talk to the police after an arrest. You’re not going to talk your way out of getting arrested — even if you did absolutely nothing wrong — so there’s no upside. All you do is risk saying something that may incriminate you and make your situation worse.
But what if the police talk to you? Do you at least get to believe everything that these public servants tell you?
The police can certainly lie, and they will
The truth is that, though they’re supposed to be legally barred from coercing confessions, the police can lie to suspects. This has even gone to the Supreme Court in the case of Frazier v. Cupp. The suspect was informed by the interrogating officer that another person involved in the crime had already confessed. This was a direct lie, as no confession has been made, but the hope for police was that they could then get a confession since the suspect would think they had nothing to lose. The Court determined that this was legal and that it was allowed.
This is also an extreme example. Police may use more minor forms of deception, such as telling you that you’ll be far better off if you just confess. No matter how helpful and even kind the officers seem, always remember that they may be lying to force you into a serious mistake.
The benefit of staying silent
As you can see, there is a lot of benefit to staying silent until you’re with your legal team. Always make sure you know what rights you have after an arrest. Working with an experienced advocate from the very start is the best decision you can make.