Police detectives in Michigan are skilled at various methods of interrogation. Their primary objective in talking to people suspected of a crime is to get them to confess. Not many people realize that the Miranda right to have a criminal law attorney in Kent County, MI present for questioning is guaranteed by the Constitution for a reason. Instead, there seems to be a public perception that detectives gather evidence from potential suspects in order to objectively weigh it and come to thoughtful, considerate conclusions.
Usually, however, if the police give a suspect a call and say they would like for her to swing by after work just to answer a few questions, they probably already believe that it is highly likely that the person is guilty of the crime. Their intention is to convince the suspect to confess. So when is the best time to talk to the police? The best time to talk to the police if you are the suspect in a crime is after you have called your criminal law attorney in Kent County, MI, and he or she is present there with you.
Police detectives in Michigan do not have to read your Miranda rights to you if they have you come in for questioning but tell you that you are free to leave whenever you would like. However, anything you say to them during the questioning can usually be used against you in court. A detective may act like he sympathizes with the suspect, might joke around or even downplay the consequences of the crime. In Michigan, the police are allowed to lie to suspects in order to elicit a confession, as well.
One of the most common interrogation methods used by police is called The Reid Technique. It is a methodical routine that highly trained detectives use to convince people to talk to them freely, even though they may leave at any time. Using psychological prowess far beyond the stereotypical “good cop/bad cop” scenario, The Reid Technique is well known for breaking down suspects and getting them to confess. Some will confess out of duress, even though nothing physically torturous is being done to them, when they are actually not guilty of the crime.
Most people are not emotionally or rationally equipped to handle interrogation by police without implicating themselves of a crime, even when they are not guilty. Anyone who realizes that they are a suspect for a crime should not merely abandon fate to the winds and see what happens during an interrogation, but should immediately invoke their Miranda right to have a criminal law attorney present. Police questioning legally should stop at this point.
