Hacking a Police Interrogation
by Dario Okasi
I was struck by what was said by the ATM Bandit in the Spring 1995 issue about being interrogated by the Secret Service - "...don't tell them anything."
This is always good advice, but what few people understand is how well trained any police force is in interrogation. Knowledge is power and once you know how a police interrogation works you can be better prepared for it should it ever happen to you.
Aside from not getting caught, the first thing you can do is have a story and stick with it. Plan it out way ahead of time just in case. It's always a good idea that you insist on your lawyer being present so you may not have to tell your story.
Note: In most states you can only be held without being charged for 24 hours. It can mean a long session but think of it as a waiting game. If you wait, you win.
The most important note: Ask for a lawyer!! The Supreme Court ruled that merely asking, "Should I have an attorney?" is not enough. You have to say, "I want a lawyer" in order for the questioning to stop. Let me say this again. You clearly and succinctly must request an attorney. Once you do anything beyond that point, it is admissible as evidence.
When brought into an interrogation room, note the furnishing. Most likely there will be just a few chairs and a very low sofa. You'll note that if you sit on the sofa, it is so low you can't get up without a great deal of effort. This is to put them into a position of power over you. You can take control by not sitting at first. They will ask you to sit. Ask "Where do you want me to sit?" When they tell you, sit anywhere else. This will make them mad as hell and they will show it, but it lets them know that you are in control of the interview.
Once in an interrogation room, insist on a lawyer. They will say, "We're not charging you with anything, so you don't need a lawyer. We just want some information."
My favorite response to this is to tell them that you know just how dirty (your city) cops are and that you can't trust cops who lie and are "on the take." You might, at some point, let them know you expect them to beat you up because "you've beaten up friends of mine." This will do two things:
- Put them on the defensive.
- Distract them, momentarily, from why they had brought you there.
If they take this bait, don't make up any stories about "bad cops." Just remain silent and repeat your claim.
If you continue to insist on a lawyer, they will threaten to arrest you. It's best to be under arrest with a lawyer than to spill your guts in a police interrogation. Insist on a lawyer no matter what.
You will seldom, if ever, be interrogated by just one cop. One will try to make the whole thing seem very casual and will "just want to get the facts straight." The other will be silent and moody. Ever hear of "Good Cop, Bad Cop?" If this is the ploy they use, you can keep control of the interrogation by letting Good Cop know that he is responsible for what Bad Cop does.
A common technique is that they will say you are not in trouble but that they just want some information. They will want to be your friends. Tell them nothing.
Failing this, they will threaten you with a huge amount of bogus charges they say can be traced directly to you. It is all bullshit. If they had that kind of evidence they would have charged you already. They will go so far as to show you evidence, printout sheets, photos, or statements from others. But they won't let you examine it because it is all made up!
If they do this, insist on thoroughly examining every bit of evidence they show and then refute it! A good example - they will show you a photo of yourself getting out of your car and claim it shows you committing (whatever crime).
Your reply would be, "That shows me returning from the laundromat. That's all and you know it! You're as dirty a bunch of cops as everyone says!"
This can get more complicated if it involves more people than just yourself. Be certain that if the cops suspect you and your friend(s), they will bring you all in and separate you. They will give you no time to create a usable story so rehearse it with your accomplices way ahead of time and make certain everyone knows what can happen in a police interrogation.
If you have done everything correctly you will find yourself sitting silently for a long time. They will walk in and tell you that your friends have just implicated you in a crime in order to get a better deal from the DA. Assuming your friends have done their job, this will be bullshit too!
In order to further threaten you, they might bring in a "signed confession" from your friends. Note that they won't let you read it because all they did was ask your friends to sign a sheet of paper with a bunch of trivial information on it like name, address, last employment, etc.
Your response: Let them know it's bullshit and that it's just further evidence that they are "dirty cops." A friend of mine once responded to this ploy by saying, "I bet you that all that really says is that he's promised to not f*ck your wife more than twice a week." The interrogating officer was not amused.
Someone once told me that he and his friends would use a "code word" that would be used if they broke under the interrogation. The cops would then relay this to his accomplices as a sign that their friend did indeed confess. The only time you should "break" is if your life is being threatened by the police. This is rare, but not unheard of.
A historic (and illegal) threat that police have used is to take all the bullets out of their gun and show them to you. They put one bullet in the chamber and start playing Russian roulette with you. Rest assured there is no real bullet in the chamber. They palmed the real bullet.
Once they have figured out that you won't tell them anything they will either let you go or arrest you. If they arrest you, they will let you talk to your lawyer. Always talk to your lawyer first.
There are plenty more strategies they will use, but this will give you an idea of what police are willing to do in order to squeeze information out of you.
Keep in mind, a police interrogation is like a game and they are counting on you to not know that. Once you know it's a game, and you know how to play, hacking it can be easy.