Thou Shalt Not Lie: But I’m The Police

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. (Exodus 20:16) It seems a bit ironic that so many police officers sworn to uphold the law feel compelled to lie when doing so fits their needs. Let’s be clear, under certain circumstances, police officers can legally lie. Generally, officers can lie so long as they are not under oath giving testimony or in cases where statutes require truthfulness.

Officers lie for several reasons. Reasons include fear, vanity, greed, and hatred. For instance, an officer who conducted a bad search might lie to stop the fact that he committed a bad search from becoming known. Or, an officer may dislike an accused so the officer might exaggerate events to increase punishment. However, when revealed, regardless of whether the lies are big or small, the lies often come back to hurt police officers’ purposes. The police might take warning from the Book of Luke that talks about that if one is untruthful in small things, one should not be believed in big things. (Luke 16:10)

Courts do allow police officers to lie calling it legal deception, trickery, cajolery, or misrepresentation to get incriminating evidence. However, courts do not allow officers to lie under oath. Prosecutors and officers value confessions so they use deceptive tactics including lying to get confessions. Common deception techniques used by police include:

• Exaggeration: Police often exaggerate the evidence against those accused of crimes. They do not hesitate to confront those accused with long lists of evidence against them that may or may not exist. In one case, an officer looked at two fingerprints that he claimed came from the victim’s checkbook and told the accused the fingerprints matched those of the accused. The accused confessed, but the officer exaggerated the evidence as the fingerprints did not match those of the accused.
• Good Cop, Bad Cop
• Fabrication: Police create stories to get confessions. In one case, the police told the accused a story that led the accused to believe that if the truth were revealed the victim would be saved.  The police falsely told the accused that the victim had just received eighteen stitches for her knife wound and would soon be discharged from the hospital.  However, the victim had died already. Under the belief he would be charged with assault and not murder, the accused confessed to stabbing the victim.
• Comparison: Officers elicit confessions by telling one suspect that the suspect’s blameworthiness is less than others who took part in the alleged crime. The intent of the officers is to get a suspect to provide details of the crime by leading the suspect to believe that since he is less blameworthy his sentence will be less if he cooperates.
• Friendly Conversation: Officers try to develop a connection with suspects. This often involves engaging in small talk about common interests. After the suspect becomes comfortable talking with an officer, the officer changes the topic to the alleged crime and before the suspect knows it, the suspect confesses.
• Threats: Instill enough fear and out comes a confession. Threats made by officers range from subtle statements about the types of jurors a jurisdiction has to references to maximum punishments to direct threats of physical harm to the suspect.
• False Promises: Officers like to promise suspects that they will put a good word in to the judge and prosecutor if the suspect confesses. Some officers blatantly promise deals that they have no authority to make. Only prosecutors can make deals and the judge is not bound by any deal.

Society suffers from many consequences of allowing police to lie.  While many officers believe telling lies leads to just results, in reality, lying harms the search for justice.  Lying may limit available evidence.  When police lie to citizens, the lying discourages citizens from cooperating with investigations.  Evidence gained using lies may be unreliable. Each lie made not under oath may make it easier for police to feel comfortable about lying under oath. In addition, lies damage police integrity and reduces citizens’ faith in the justice system.

Attorneys and suspects should always keep in mind that police can and do lie. Failure to remain silent or answer correctly could result in incriminating evidence used against suspects, regardless of whether the suspect is guilty or not. Therefore, before answering any questions suspects should consult with a qualified attorney.