Top Five Cop Tricks – How They Get You to Give Up Your Rights
Posted on November 21, 2007
Filed Under Criminal Law, Police, Tips |
Anyone who has watched TV is familiar with their Miranda Rights and knows they have the “right to an attorney.” Even if you aren’t under arrest you don’t have to speak with the police. However, despite being able to recite their rights by heart, most people voluntarily give them up when being questioned by law enforcement or placed under arrest. The police are experts are getting people to talk; here are five tricks they use to get you to give up your rights:
1. “We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way.” – Often, without being arrested, a version of this statement will be made. The cop is suggesting that if you just admit to him you did something wrong, he will go easy on you. Don’t fall for it. If you take the bait and admit to a crime you will be arrested and your confession will be used against you.
There is no easy way out, and the cops aren’t there to help. The real easy way is to get a lawyer and remain silent.
2. “We would like you to come with us to answer a few questions.” – Welcome to cop fishing! If they had enough to make an arrest, they would have. Instead, they want to put you on the record and trip you up later if you miss any details. There is no benefit to cooperation and don’t think you can outwit them. No, you don’t want to go anywhere. And, no, you aren’t answering any questions.
3. “What do you have to hide?” – This loaded question seeks to impugn anyone who knows their rights and refused to cooperate with police. Remember, you don’t have to justify your decision not to speak with a cop.
4. “You might as well tell us, we already know everything.” – Similar to #3, if the police had evidence of you committing a crime they would be stopping by to arrest you, not to chat.
5. “Why do you need an attorney unless you did something wrong?” – As if you need to justify exercising your rights to a public servant. Don’t even attempt to answer this; it’s another cop trick question.
The bottom line is you shouldn’t try to out smart people whose job it is to trick you into a confession. Getting a lawyer and keeping quiet is the smartest move you can make.
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12 Responses to “Top Five Cop Tricks – How They Get You to Give Up Your Rights”
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Ironic… My first stumble after getting pulled over right in front of my house and receiving a 130 dollar ticket for having one headlight out.
The main thing to remember when interacting with cops is that, 24-7-365, all they get from the public is (a) lies, and (b) hostility. If, in any given situation, you give every appearance of being calm, rational and reasonably courteous, 999 out of 1,000 cops will do the same. You can exercise any or all of your rights, but there’s seldom a reason to turn doing so into a flaming Patrick Henry speech, either.
Being a cop is in some ways a great job–but it’s also, in other ways, one of the crappiest jobs on the planet. Always try to remember that the “customer” just before you, so to speak, may have been the child rapist or the guy who bludgeoned an elderly woman for her pension check.
Also remember: in ANY job, there are the competent and the incompetent, the courteous and the rude, the reliable plodders and the body-hurdling backstabbers. You think cops are any different?
Your number one defense is learning to READ people. Cops do. (The live ones, anyway.)
Sorry, but MANY innocent people have a bad experience with the police because MANY people have the interpersonal skills of a used car salesman.
Good info - Hope I never need it, but still nice to know. Also, there’s something similar that the ACLU puts out on a wallet-card. I recall one was “Don’t run from the cop!” Makes sense to me.
There was a news story not so long ago where a guy was arrested in Ohio because he refused to answer any questions at all, on the grounds that state law said he only had to identify himself if asked. But different states have different laws on what police can and can’t ask, so always check first.
Great things happen when it is least expected.This blog is really great in informing people about the basic laws.
this is an interesting article on how to avoid being getting into a trap which is usually set up by the cops. It has informed me about my rights and i am sure will help others too.
You forgot an obvious one. Good cop–Bad cop. It’s used on every police drama for a reason. One cop claims to be unreasonable angry, while the other is your “friend.”
I did criminal defense work for years and while I agree with the majority of the article remember, ALWAYS BE RESPECTFUL.They have a difficult job with their primary goal being to protect and serve.Also always keep a log of ,who,what, and when. If the police continue to contact you, get names ,badge numbers, time of contact and what it was about.
As always it is up to you whether you talk to them. However if you witnessed a crime like a robbery or assault or murder, please put yourself in the victim’s shoes. You’re not being a rat by keeping your community safe for your family and friends.
> 1. We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way.
Cops will always try to intimidate you into giving up your rights. Do you remember that CNN video of the cop that was harassing the student who had a camera mounted in between the front two seats? And the officer kept calling him “boy” and degrading him - I feel like this is a far more common practice than people are willing to admit.
I can only think that the author of this article about how to react when one is pulled over, has been on the receiving end of a bad incident. Or, perhaps he was pulled over often for a reason or two.
As with another paragraph earlier, I agree with the blogger who said that cops have to take on all of these situations with all sorts of individuals (lots of these people not being “normal” either) and they are required to follow the law to the T.
Yes, some are good and some aren’t.
I personally would not look forward to pulling over a car with several unsavory individuals in it.
Good article for revealing what peoples rights truly are. I thought officers were out to protect people’s rights, not to trick you into giving them up.
This is in reply to Blinky the Hitman - oviously he’s a cop in hiding.
Are There Any Good Cops?
Throughout my educational pursuits, military career and professional/business career, I’ve had the opportunity to live in a great many places in different parts of the country. I usually make friends easily and due to my normal public exposure, I’ve become personal friends with cops in different locales. It’s surprising to see how much similarity exists with these cops, even though they’re geographically separated by vast distances.
As we’ve become friends, these cops confide in me, or should I say ‘brag’ about some of their questionable tactics. If you think that all cops are “Officer Friendly”, think again. If you think cops are there to help you, think again. If you think cops are ‘on your side’, think again.
Where Do You Work?
If you’ve ever been pulled over for a traffic violation, you’ve probably been questioned about where you work. Most cops will ask you this and you probably think it’s just a routine question. Well, that’s probably not the case for asking such a question. The cop usually has a selfish motive for asking where you work.
For example, if you work at a large retail electronics store, you may be able to get a great deal for the cop on a giant screen TV. Depending upon the severity of the traffic stop, he might even try to convince you to slip the TV out the back door for him at no cost.
If you work at a furniture factory, you may be able to provide furniture at little or no cost. If you work at a local liquor store, you could provide an ongoing supply of free booze to the cop.
And you thought it was just a routine question! If your place of employment holds some appeal for the cop, there’s a good chance he’ll give you a pass on the ticket, for some consideration, of course.
Unfortunately for you, if you work as an elevator operator in a big office building, there’s nothing much you can do for the cop, so you’re just out of luck in this department.
Stay Here, I’ll Be Right Back -
The cop gets your driver’s license and returns to his car, presumably to see if you have any outstanding warrants. But what he’s really doing is evaluating your case to see if you’re in a desparate situation.
For example, if the records show that you’ve had previous speeding tickets and one more moving violation will mean that you’ll pay a big fine and loose your license, you’re a prime target for a big cash bonanza for the cop. He’ll explain to you how your life will go down the toilet with this ticket. He’ll tell you that it will result in a big fine, the loss of your driving priviledges for an extended period of time and that your auto insurance rates will go sky high.
But, being the nice guy(ass hole, crooked bastard) that he is, he’ll offer you an easy way out. If you agree to pay a ‘fine’ right now, all this talk about issuing you another ticket will be forgotten. You just pay a cash fine to the cop and go back on your way, just like nothing ever happened. The cops tell me that most people that are offered this deal do pay up in order to avoid the penalties they’d face if they got another ticket.
If you’re unfortunate enough to be stopped for a DUI and the cop sees on your record that you have previous DUI convictions, he feels like he just won the Powerball Lottery. He can shake you down big-time. He’ll not only take all the cash you have on hand, but he’ll escort you to your bank so you can withdraw a large amount of additional cash to convince him to let you go without an arrest.
Well Officer, How Fast Was I Going?
Many traffic cops, when they want to make some quick cash, stop off at the properties department before leaving the station to start their shift. They check out a radar gun, commonly referred to as an Instant Cash Machine. They’ll go to their favorite hunting spot, which is a stretch of highway that has an unreasonably low speed limit. He likes this spot because he knows that motorists are tempted to drive over the speed limit. All he has to do is spend a couple hours here with his radar gun and he stands to make several hundred dollars.
Most of the times when a person is pulled over for speeding, the driver will ask “How fast was I going?” A cop that’s looking to make money will reply with something like - “Oh, you were going about fifty dollars over the limit”. Of course, if the cop checks your record and sees previous speeding tickets, the price could go up considerably.
One cop in Chicago was making so much money with this tactic that he neglected to cash his paychecks for several months. He’d just throw them in the dresser drawer and forget about them. Finally, one day the captain called him in the office and asked if he’d please cash his paychecks so they could keep the books up to date!
You Can Talk To The Judge Right Now
Cops really like to pull over good looking girls, especially if they have previous tickets. I’m not going to go into the details here, but just use your imagination about how these girls can pay their fines right now - and it isn’t with money!
How would you feel if your girlfriend or wife gets pulled over by a cop like this?
You Can Be Arrested For DUI Even If You Haven’t Had A Single Drink!
In many states, it’s not necessary for the prosecutor to prove that your blood alcohol exceeded the maximum level allowed by law. Instead, if a judge can be convinced that you were driving while impaired, you’ll be convicted of DUI.
How can a cop convince the judge that you were impaired? It’s surprizingly easy.
Here’s how it works -
In most cases, when you’re stopped, you’ll be asked to provide your driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance. Most people keep their registration and insurance papers in the glove compartment, along with other miscellaneous items. When you look for the papers, you’ll have to sort thru everything and this will probably take you a minute or two.
If the cop wants to make things bad for you, he’ll just write in his report that when asked to produce your documentation, you appeared disoriented and confused. What do you think the judge will assume from that comment on the police report? Of course, he’ll conclude that you were drunk. In actuality, you were just sorting thru the glove compartment to locate the latest papers, but the cop makes it sound like you were ‘falling down’ drunk.
A Single Glass of Wine Can Cost You A Hundred Dollars!
Another favorite hunting ground for cops is a banquet hall that caters to wedding receptions. In almost all cases, there is alcohol being served, so all the cop has to do is wait until guests leave the hall and then pull them over for DUI. Again, just a single glass of wine can be smelled on your breath and if the cop writes his report to influence the judge against you, you’ll suffer the consequences, just as if you were so intoxicated that you didn’t even know where you were. Of course, once you see the way things are going against you, you’ll probably be offered the option of paying a ‘fine’ immediately so you can avoid the legal issues and inconvenience of going to court.
Bad Things Sometimes Happen To Good People
Many states are cracking down on drivers that have consumed alcohol. They have lowered the maximum allowable blood alcohol level and they push the cops to make more DUI arrests. After all, DUI convictions usually involve fairly large fines, so DUI arrests can be a substantial source of income for the local authorities. Sometimes the revenue produced enters thru the court system, sometimes it goes directly into the pocket of the cop.
In essence, what’s happened in the last few years is that it’s becoming much more likely that normal people will be arrested and convicted for DUI. The authorities win because the records show they’re doing their job, the fine revenues are up and they get community service workers providing free labor. For the victims of bogus DUI convictions, well, they just lose.
Are There Any Good Cops?
Well, I suppose there are some good cops somewhere, but I’ve never known of any that were totally honest. That’s not to say that all cops are dishonest, it just so happens that all (100%) the ones I’ve know personally have admitted to being dishonest.
Bad cops are everywhere, so be on the watch for the scumbags!
Contrary to the TV shows that portray the cops as heros, in actuality, most cops are nothing more than thugs that hide behind badges. If all the crooked cops suddenly vanished, there wouldn’t be many cops left. The donut shops would probably go out of business.