If you get arrested by the police and taken down to the station, they may put you in a room and begin asking questions. This interrogation is an attempt to learn more about what was happening and to get you to talk to the police.
However, many legal experts advise never talking to the police without your legal team present. You may have to tell them some information, such as your name, but you really don’t have to talk to them much beyond that. You can simply state that you’d rather not answer any questions on your own, and they have to respect that right. If all else fails, you can plead the fifth, which means that you using your 5th Amendment right to remain silent.
But why is it a bad idea to talk to the police? There are many potential reasons.
You may accidentally incriminate yourself
First and foremost, you may accidentally say something that you’ll regret later. You could incriminate yourself for a crime that you didn’t even commit. You can make yourself look more guilty than you are. The police are going to pressure you to give the answers that they’re looking for, and this is a high-stress situation. It’s easy to say something that you don’t mean or to get some of the details wrong, but once you’ve said it, you can’t take it back.
The police can lie to you
Another reason to have your legal team present is that the police are allowed to lie to you, and they don’t have to tell you they’re doing it. They can use this to trick you or manipulate you. Again, this is a situation in which you’re facing a lot of stress and you probably don’t have a lot of experience. It can help to have someone to guide you so that you don’t make any mistakes, which is exactly what the police want you to do.
You’re not going to talk your way out of it
One of the big reasons that people do talk to the police is that they simply think they can convince the officers to let them go. They don’t want to have to tell their lawyer or their boss or their family members. They want to get through this as quickly as possible. But the reality is that this simply isn’t going to help and you’re not going to talk your way out of legal charges on your own. You’re only risking making an error that makes your situation even worse, and it’s just not worth it.
If you do find yourself in this position, take the time to carefully consider all of the legal options you have.