You may not have even considered the possibility of a detective giving you a call, and as such, you may have no idea what the best course of action is if they do. And this is exactly the detective’s intent. Police officers and detectives count on potential defendants being ill-prepared to handle casual calls from them, and this can lead to a legal rabbit hole.
Unless you are the victim of a crime, you shouldn’t proceed by answering the detective’s questions without an experienced Round Rock criminal defense attorney in your corner – even if the detective tells you that you may have been a witness to a crime and even if you know that you are completely innocent of any criminal charges.
To Begin
If a detective gives you a call, there are several first moves you should make, including:
First, you should verify that the detective is who they say they are, which involves asking for their name, badge number, and phone number. This is a great way to end the call and afford yourself the time you need to take the next steps.
You should know from the start that detectives are skilled at employing a range of highly effective tactics when they are attempting to gather information, and they tend to be quite good at what they do.
At this juncture, the detective can have a conversation with you without reading you your Miranda rights – or your right to remain silent and to have an attorney. This is required of them only if they have you in a custodial interrogation – or if they are questioning you while you are detained or under arrest.
The detective has the right to question you under informal circumstances, such as a friendly phone call, but you are not required to go along with their request and are advised not to.
The most important step you can take at this point is to seek the professional legal representation of a formidable Round Rock criminal defense attorney.
Feeling Unnerved? Tips for Handling the Situation
If you get a call from a detective out of the blue, you can be left feeling unnerved and uncertain, but there’s no reason to panic. The following tips will see you through the situation without jeopardizing your rights:
Begin by keeping your cool and remaining as calm as you can.
Make it your policy not to make a statement or to answer any probative questions. Instead, ask for the identifying information mentioned and let the detective know that you’ll get back to them.
Assume from the start that the phone call is being recorded and that it could potentially be used against you at a later date.
Now is the time to consult with a focused criminal defense attorney – don’t wait around and think about it.
Why It’s So Important to Identify the Caller
We live in an age of telephone and digital scams, and scammers are only getting better at what they do. Just because the person on the other end of the line identifies themself as a detective doesn’t make it so.
An imposter can perpetrate a scam against you, but they could also be using intimidation to fish for information – that could be related to a crime. Either way, sharing information with them is never a good idea.
The first order of business is verifying the identity of the caller. Officers have protocols they follow when contacting people in the community, and you have every right – and are encouraged – to do what it takes to ensure you’re speaking to a detective in the first place.
Once you’ve jotted down their name, badge number, and a number to call them back, it’s time to consult with a seasoned criminal defense lawyer – who will advise you on whether or not speaking to the police is a good idea. The same advice applies if a detective leaves their card at your home or place of work, asking you to give them a call or to meet with them.
The Nature of the Call
The primary reasons that a detective might call you include all the following:
You are a victim of a crime.
You are a potential witness to a crime.
You are a suspect or person of interest in a criminal case.
If you are the victim of a crime, speaking with the detective is the best means of protecting your rights and helping to ensure justice on your behalf. In any other situation, however, calling a dedicated Round Rock criminal defense attorney as soon as possible to do so is in your best interest.
Determining the Detective’s Intentions
A primary piece in the puzzle is determining why the detective called you in the first place and what their intentions are. Common examples include:
Requesting a statement
Requesting an interview
Gathering relevant information about a criminal case
Requesting your cooperation or assistance
Regardless of their intent, however, having legal guidance is an excellent plan. Further, the detective’s actual intention and stated intention can be very different. Just because a detective contacts you does not mean you are suspected of having committed a crime.
In fact, they may simply need your help, but assessing the situation accurately is challenging. Your knowledgeable criminal defense attorney will help you determine what the detective’s actual intention is and will help you make the right decisions for you moving forward.
Your Right to Remain Silent Is Worth Protecting
Choosing to communicate with law enforcement without a skilled criminal defense attorney backing you up is a mistake that can have grave consequences. To begin, you enter the conversation with no idea about what the detective knows or doesn’t know, about what their motive is, or about what they are hoping to find out. To make matters worse, the detective can lie to you, and they have likely honed these skills well.
When a detective asks you questions that go beyond identifying yourself, it’s your cue to assert your right to counsel. After doing so, it’s on you to stop talking and to wait until you have an attorney present before continuing. Having a trusted criminal defense attorney comes with all the following benefits:
Your attorney will help to ensure that your rights are well protected throughout your interaction with law enforcement.
Your attorney will help to ensure that you don’t incriminate yourself in the process.
Your attorney will help to ensure that your best interests are preserved.
Tactics that Detectives Often Employ
A detective’s job is collecting information, so it likely comes as no surprise that they have a range of strategies at their disposal. For example, they can turn to each of the following tactics to obtain the information they seek:
Lying to the interviewee during questioning
Misleading the interviewee during questioning
Casting doubt on honest answers
Applying psychological pressure, such as presenting false evidence, pretending to empathize with the interviewee, or pushing an interviewee to admit guilt
The Reid Technique
Some detectives are trained in specialized interrogation processes, such as the Reid technique, which is controversial but legal. It involves three components that include:
Factual analysis that attempts analysis of the individual
Behavioral analysis interview, which employs behavioral analysis to elicit confessions
Interrogation, which involves developing a theme around the interviewee’s potential motives, dealing with denials, and affording opportunities to confess
The detective interviewing you may shower you with false assurances that you’re not a suspect, which is intended to lower your defenses and to pave the way for a more open conversation that makes it easier to incriminate yourself.
Factors that Tend to Support False Confessions
Some of the factors that are most closely associated with false confessions include:
Denying the interviewee their rights
Conducting sessions that are unreasonably long
Making promises of leniency in exchange for a confession
Probative Questions
Probative questions are designed to explore and substantiate. They tend to elicit expansive responses that share a good deal of information. These questions often provide detectives with the probable cause they need to proceed with an arrest.
Responses to probative questions can also help round out cases against interviewees and help the prosecution bring stronger cases. Answering such questions without legal guidance can inadvertently place you at the scene of the crime or otherwise connect you to the crime at hand, which can put you at a serious disadvantage as the case moves forward.
If a detective wants to interview you for any reason, it’s important to remember that you have rights. While you may be inclined to cooperate with the police, doing so with a savvy attorney by your side offers you protections that you may not know you need until it’s too late.
If You’re Requested to Visit the Police Station
If a detective invites you to come to the police station for questioning, you need to know that their invitation is neither a court order nor a subpoena. When you’re invited, you are not obligated to comply.
In fact, going along with the request can be seen as implying you have some sort of connection to the crime in question, which can be self-incriminating. A better idea is to let the detective know that you are willing to come in, that you’ll do so with your attorney present, and that your attorney will schedule the meeting with them.
Your Criminal Defense Attorney’s Role
If you’re going to the police station in response to a detective’s invitation, having a capable criminal defense attorney on hand is key for all the following reasons:
Your attorney will discuss the matter with the detective to learn the nature of the case in question and the detective’s motivation.
Your attorney will provide you with a frank assessment of the situation and a well-informed opinion about whether or not you should comply with the interview request.
If you do accept the invitation and schedule an appointment with the detective, your attorney will prep you ahead of time and will fiercely defend your legal rights throughout the process.
Your attorney will help you devise the most effective strategy moving forward.
FAQ
If you’ve been asked to have a sit down with a detective, you have questions, and the answers to the following may help.
A detective called. What should I do?
If a detective calls, the most important things to remember are to remain calm, verify their identity, and consult with a practicing criminal defense attorney before you agree to answer any questions.
Why would a detective call me?
There are a range of reasons a detective might call you seemingly out of the blue, but the basics include that they believe you may be a witness to a crime, a victim of a crime, or a suspect in a criminal case. Unless you are the victim to a crime, you shouldn’t proceed without legal backup.
Shouldn’t I see what they want before contacting an attorney?
By the time you know why the detective wants to talk to you – other than when you are the victim of a crime – you may have already unintentionally incriminated yourself or provided them with information you’d be better off not providing. The sooner you have an accomplished criminal defense attorney on your side, the better off you are.
Reach Out to an Experienced Round Rock Criminal Defense Attorney Today
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a well-respected criminal defense attorney with an impressive reputation for skillfully guiding valued clients like you through the interview process with their rights firmly intact.
If you’ve been asked to come in for a sit-down, don’t wait to contact or call us at 254-781-4222 to schedule a free consultation and learn more about what we can do to help you today.