head

POLICE INTERROGTIONS
Introduction

dot Introduction
If you have never been in a Police interrogation....then you have little idea of exactly how intimidating and traumatic they can be. Try remembering how you felt the first time a State Trooper pulled you over for speeding (or whatever) and walked up to you car window to ask for your Driver's License. Chances are your stomach and chest felt tight, your breathing was shallow, your voice tight and nervous. If you knew you were speeding you feared the consequences,   and even you weren't speeding...you still felt nervous and upset.     If you multiply this by about 10-20 times...you have an idea what a full fledged Police Interrogation feels like.

dot The Beginning...How Interrogations Begin
The interrogation process actually begins long before you are actually escorted to the interrogation room. If you have been taken into custody you should have (and probably will have) your "Miranda Rights" read to you (You have the right to remain silent...you have the right ot an attorney....etc. etc.). You will then be asked whether or not you understand these rights. If you answer "no"...then the whole "Miranda" process will probably start over again and be repeated until you either say "yes..you understand",   OR   the officers get tired of dealing with you and take you directly to the station so the "experts" can deal with you.

At the point you finally answer "Yes...you understand your rights", the officers will then proceed to ask you if you waive any of those rights....(especially the one about having an attorney present).     It is important to understand that the official interrogation process starts IMMEDIATELY after you affirm that you understand your rights.     From the point you tell an officer that you understand your rights onwards....ANYTHING you say, ANYTHING you do, and ANYTHING that happens...becomes part of the official record.

Before we go any further....lets take a brief look what the Miranda Rights actually say.   It is not widely known amoung the general public, but the exact wording of the "Miranda Rights" statement is not specified in the Supreme Court's historic decision.   Instead, law enforcement agencies have created a basic set of simple statements that can be read to accused persons prior to any questioning.     Here are paraphrased examples of the basic "Miranda Rights" statements, along with related excerpts from the Supreme Court's decision.

  1. You have the right to remain silent.
    The Court: "At the outset, if a person in custody is to be subjected to interrogation, he must first be informed in clear and unequivocal terms that he has the right to remain silent."
  2. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
    The Court: "The warning of the right to remain silent must be accompanied by the explanation that anything said can and will be used against the individual in court."
  3. You have the right to have an attorney present now and during any future questioning.
    The Court: "...the right to have counsel present at the interrogation is indispensable to the protection of the Fifth Amendment privilege under the system we delineate today. ... [Accordingly] we hold that an individual held for interrogation must be clearly informed that he has the right to consult with a lawyer and to have the lawyer with him during interrogation under the system for protecting the privilege we delineate today."
  4. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you free of charge if you wish.
    The Court: "In order fully to apprise a person interrogated of the extent of his rights under this system then, it is necessary to warn him not only that he has the right to consult with an attorney, but also that if he is indigent a lawyer will be appointed to represent him. Without this additional warning, the admonition of the right to consult with counsel would often be understood as meaning only that he can consult with a lawyer if he has one or has the funds to obtain one.
    The Court continues by declaring what the police must do if the person being interrogated indicates that he or she does want a lawyer...
    "If the individual states that he wants an attorney, the interrogation must cease until an attorney is present. At that time, the individual must have an opportunity to confer with the attorney and to have him present during any subsequent questioning. If the individual cannot obtain an attorney and he indicates that he wants one before speaking to police, they must respect his decision to remain silent."
You can be arrested without being read your Miranda Rights.
The Miranda rights do not protect you from being arrested, only from incriminating yourself during questioning. All police need to legally arrest a person is "probable cause" -- an adequate reason based on facts and events to believe the person has committed a crime.
Police are required to "Read him his (Miranda) rights," only before interrogating a suspect. While failure to do so may cause any subsequent statements to be thrown out of court, the arrest may still be legal and valid.
NOTE: Even without reading the Miranda rights, police are allowed to ask routine questions like name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number necessary to establishing a person's identity. Police can also administer alcohol and drug tests without warning, but persons being tested may refuse to answer questions during the tests.

WITNESSES:   Being a suspect is not the only way people find themselves in police interrogations. If you have not been taken into custody...or arrested....but you are a witness to, or possibly have knowledge of, a crime   then you may also find yourself in a police interrogation. While being a witness doesn't generally carry the possibility of being arrested based on your answers, the interrogation/interview process is still stressful. Even as a witness you will go through many of the same types of questioning and re-questioning so the interrogator can feel certain that he has the best and most accurate information.

dot The Interrogation Atmosphere
Police interrogation rooms are (of course) located in police stations. The mere proximity of these rooms to all the "legal hustle and bustle" automatically creates an intimidating atmosphere for the person being interrogated. These rooms are nearly always spartan in their appearance...and this is generally by design and not simply a matter of financial economy. The furniture and decor is generally minimal, functional, and institutional looking. You will rarely find a clock on the wall. There may be wall decorations but these too will be minimal. I've never even heard of an interrogation room with a window to the outside world. The only windows generally found in interrogation rooms are small ones in the doors...and the only other glass is the occasional "two-way mirror" in one of the walls.   (NOTE: These days police departments more often use mini-cameras to allow covert viewing of the interrogation instead of the old fashioned "two way mirror".

The Interrogation room is spartan by design. It is designed to look official and somewhat intimidating so as to provoke enough stress and pressure to make it difficult to be relaxed, which in turn makes it more difficult to be deceptive. The Interrogation room is also purposely designed to minimimize and/or eliminate outside distractions. The Interrogation room is constructed so that "time" stands still (so-to-speak). No clock on the wall, no outside windows to indicate change of day, steady lighting.....all sorts of things to insulate the person being interrogated. Last but not least, the Interrogation room can ALWAYS be secured so that those inside cannot get out unless purposely released. You will not be able to simply get up and walk out.

[ Previous ]       [ HOME ]       [ Next ]

Send comments, questions, and suggestions to Keep Your Secrets

The tutorials and articles on these pages are ©   1999-2000 and may not
be reposted without written permission from the author, and may not be reprinted for profit.