SHOULD YOU TALK TO THE POLICE?

So imagine you're hanging out at home one day, and you get a phone call from a police officer. He tells you, "Hi, I'm a detective and I've been investigating you for a series of crimes, and we want you to come down and make a statement." You have no idea what he's talking about. What are you going to do? Are you going to talk to him? Or are you going to remain silent? My name is Colin McCallin with the Law Firm of Hebets & McCallin, and in this video, we're going to talk about whether or not you have an affirmative duty to speak to a police officer. This is actually a pretty simple question. The one thing that you do have to provide a police officer if you are contacted by one, is your identifying information. So if a police officer approaches you and asks for your I.D., asks for your name, your address — those are things that you have to provide, but that is it.

Whether you are a suspect, a victim of a crime, or a witness to a crime, you will never ever be under any obligation to speak to the police or make a statement. You don't have to. Some people often say, "well wait a minute. If I haven't done anything wrong, why wouldn't I cooperate fully? Why wouldn't I speak to this police officer and make a statement and maybe clear my name?" Fair point. The problem is if you're being targeted by a police officer, these guys think that you've done something wrong. They don't know you. You may know you're innocent, but they don't know that. They're investigating you, and they often use your statements to bolster their confessions. It's one of the easiest tools that they have for investigation. So my general advice to people if you're contacted by a police officer — the less you say, the better. You should remain silent. Less is more in those situations. I'm Colin McCallin, check out our Facebook page for more Hebets & McCallin content, as well as our podcast, "Is This Legal?" from wherever you get your podcasts.