Never speak to the police.

[Deleted]

That guy...i wish my lecturers were like him! I don't even study law and i have never been so captivated. I have to admit i have always believed if i was ever questioned i would tell all, but after watching that i am not sure if i should anymore.

[Laize]

Police are people. They can be good and bad just like any other profession or person on the planet. Honestly you can usually tell in under 5mins if you are dealing with one of those cops that just wants to get back at the kids that beat him up in high school or if he is one of those cops that really wants to protect and server his community. I used to generalize this a lot but I learned that in most cases if you aren't causing trouble with the average cop you don't have anything to worry about.

This is true. BUT YOU STILL DON'T TALK TO THE POLICE.

If they want to offer you immunity for the case then by all means talk to them. If they won't allow immunity then they have entertained the idea that you might be a suspect.

Invoking your 5th Amendment is all about avoiding wrongful convictions. The less work the Innocence Project has, the better.

The policeman in the video even highlights some of the tactics they use to extract confessions from people. The following are some damn good reasons to never talk to the police.

http://web.williams.edu/Psychology/F..._fong_1999.pdf
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&...page&q&f=false
http://www.psychologytoday.com/artic...lse-confession

Here's a particularly effective method of interrogation. The Reid Technique.

It gets confessions from guilty parties 84% of the time.

It also gets confessions from innocent people 43% of the time.

It's better to just not fucking talk to the cops!

[Forgottenone]

Maybe I would be able to protect myself, if my defensive instincts weren't crushed to the ground by society and the police itself. Of course I need the police too spoon fed me, because I am too restrained and therefore retarded to do it by myself.

I think your problem is with society and how the government works, the police are people like yourself. They are doing a job but their job can be a lot more punishing than your job. Of course if we allowed people to do what you think, defend themselves who knows how out of control people would become. You ASSUME you have control of yourself in a bad situation, that you would make correct decisions but it is likely you wouldn't.

Police are one of the main reasons our world hasn't gone to complete shit, people are afraid of breaking the law and being caught. Sure a lot of people are just good citizens but there is an equal amount who would break the law if there wasn't any consequence.

[Deleted]

Also @Terahertz he said exculpate which means to "Show or declare that (someone) is not guilty of wrongdoing" which would make sense in the context

[Laize]

Are you kidding me? Why would I never talk to a police officer, they are just there to make the country safe its not like theyre gona beat you up for saying hi. Infact I remember talking to several police officers occasionally when im drunk, they arent evil hate mongers out to get you they are there to protect and serve the public.

Christ they're just people lol.

I don't mean in social situations. I'm not a monster.

I just don't think you should speak the police if they're asking you questions regarding a crime.

[mmines]

That is patently the worst advice ever. If you've committed a crime, you probably shouldn't talk to police, since it's their job to arrest you. If you haven't, the police can't do their job to help the general public without the help of the general public, and they know that. Not talking to the police helps absolutely nobody.

So go ahead, don't talk to the police, and don't expect the police to be able to actually help and protect you. No law professor actually thinks it's a bad idea to talk to the police unless you've committed a crime.

Do you not know how corrupt everything is?

[Laize]

At around 14:20 the guy says something around these lines: "He expelnates himself". I can't seem to find the definition of this word or any variant except for explanation.. I know it's a bit off-topic but I'm trying to understand some of the hard words he's saying :P

(This post will be edited after I'm done watching the video, unless I forget to :S)

He's speaking so fast sometimes he stumbles over himself. You just gotta power through it.

The word he used was "exculpate". It means to remove himself from suspicion.

[Edison]

Sir you neighbor was murdered yesterday did you see anything, well ya a white van was there for an hour or 2 but I'm not gonna tell you, I think it's better to let that vanload of deviants keep murdering people. Whenever a crime is solved with eye witness and community help then you can thank the people who didn't take this rediculous advice seriously.

Most people on this forum is teenagers who think it's awesome to hate the police, they'll eventually grow up sooner or later

[Svifnymr]

strawman argument

Amusing aside, pointing out the logical fallacy of "never speak to the police" as an absolute, no strawman (I did not construct anything to debate) nor even an argument.

[Deleted]

Are you kidding me? Why would I never talk to a police officer, they are just there to make the country safe its not like theyre gona beat you up for saying hi. Infact I remember talking to several police officers occasionally when im drunk, they arent evil hate mongers out to get you they are there to protect and serve the public.

Christ they're just people lol.

They're just people?

You know what one did to my uncle? While he was driving, a policeman was also driving in front of him, but intentionally with low speed. My uncle made a guess and didn't risk getting past him, because there was a continuous line. This whole dumb game continued for good minutes, until the cop finally decided to pull him over, and tried to fine him after they told him " I made you a sign to get past me, why didn't you do it". And of course if he did go past him, he would've been fined for that too. Either way, he was still considered at fault, and the police tried to milk his money.

People? Hah. Fuck the police indeed.

[bekilrwale]

My father is a criminal defense attorney and he made very sure that I understand to never talk to an officer or state attorney. You can turn into a PoI for no good reason>.>, no thanks but I don't want to be accused for something I didn't do just because I said something I shouldn't have.

[darkwarrior42]

I don't mean in social situations. I'm not a monster.

I just don't think you should speak the police if they're asking you questions regarding a crime.

Hypothetical: If everyone stopped talking to the police about crimes, how would the police conduct investigations? Material evidence helps, certainly, but its own is nowhere near sufficient. If you have no good answer, how do you propose criminals be stopped or caught?

I'm well aware of the interrogation tactics that lead to false confessions, but the better advice is for people to learn how to not talk to police... rather than just telling them to never talk to the police.

[Laize]

Sir you neighbor was murdered yesterday did you see anything, well ya a white van was there for an hour or 2 but I'm not gonna tell you, I think it's better to let that vanload of deviants keep murdering people. Whenever a crime is solved with eye witness and community help then you can thank the people who didn't take this rediculous advice seriously.

Just about every time someone is wrongfully convicted you have to thank these same people.

A thousand guilty men walking free is better than one innocent man in jail.

[reohh]

You people are dumb. I hope that when your life is in danger or something happens where you NEED the police, they never come. Cops do so much to protect us and people basically spit in their faces by treating them like the enemy.

[Laize]

Hypothetical: If everyone stopped talking to the police about crimes, how would the police conduct investigations? Material evidence helps, certainly, but its own is nowhere near sufficient. If you have no good answer, how do you propose criminals be stopped or caught?

I'm well aware of the interrogation tactics that lead to false confessions, but the better advice is for people to learn how to not talk to police... rather than just telling them to never talk to the police.

Ok let's put it a different way.

Never talk to the police without a lawyer present. Not in the station, not in your home, not on the street. Even if you have information to offer to help with an investigation, make sure a lawyer is present. They'll act as a legal filter to make sure you don't say anything that could possibly be used against you.

---------- Post added 2012-09-23 at 11:27 PM ----------

You people are dumb. I hope that when your life is in danger or something happens where you NEED the police, they never come. Cops do so much to protect us and people basically spit in their faces by treating them like garbage.

Did not know exercising the 5th Amendment was tantamount to treating police like garbage.

[Edison]

You people are dumb. I hope that when your life is in danger or something happens where you NEED the police, they never come. Cops do so much to protect us and people basically spit in their faces by treating them like the enemy.

They should just split people up into the ones who are anti police and the ones that are pro police. The ones that are anti should obviously never be helped and laughed at when they get robbed or beaten.

[Clarden]

I honestly just watched all 48 minutes of that. 1.) Would love that guy as a professor. 2.) I can honestly say that this video is really useful and others should watch the entire thing as well.

[darkwarrior42]

Just about every time someone is wrongfully convicted you have to thank these same people.

A thousand guilty men walking free is better than one innocent man in jail.

So does that mean we should just not try to catch those who are guilty? We might screw up, so better to not try?

Our justice system is founded on the premise of "innocent until proven guilty" which does mean that as a country, we believe it is better to let the guilty walk free than to send the innocent to jail. Even still, the people who created the system with that as its premise still provided for a way for people to be imprisoned when they broke the law.

Police are human, and they will make mistakes. Just as prosecutors do. Just as defenders do. Just as judges do. That doesn't mean we stop trying.

No system a human can create will ever be perfect; if you're trying to say that people shouldn't ever trust the police because innocent people get sent to jail, knowing full well that any justice system a human creates that sends people to jail will eventually send someone innocent to jail, then you're effectively arguing that nobody should ever trust a human justice system.

(And to turn your scenario around, there are plenty of times when the guilty walk free because people were afraid to talk to the police, for one reason or another.)

Edit: However, I will say that always having a lawyer present when you're being questioned is a good idea. I'm not sure it'd always be necessary, but I don't see any situation where it would make things worse, and is an effective (if not fullproof) safeguard.

[Svifnymr]

My father is a criminal defense attorney and he made very sure that I understand to never talk to an officer or state attorney. You can turn into a PoI for no good reason>.>, no thanks but I don't want to be accused for something I didn't do just because I said something I shouldn't have.

Another way to become a person of interest is to say nothing when you obviously have information you're withholding.

It comes down to being careful what you say and answering in short concise statements when possible. This assumes a casual "did you see anything". If you're taken to a station for questioning, then clam up and wait for an attorney. If you're a victim, then explain the situation. If it's a traffic stop, offer no information or confirmation, but be polite and maybe they'll let you off.

[reohh]

They should just split people up into the ones who are anti police and the ones that are pro police. The ones that are anti should obviously never be helped and laughed at when they get robbed or beaten.

Not sure if you agree with me or are mocking me. But I think I have an idea which one it is.