Families of Prisoners Support Group
This community is dedicated to families that have been disrupted by prison. Having a loved one incarcerated or having been incarcerated comes with its own unique challenges that require support and understanding. Join the group to find others who know what you're going through, and to seek advice or share your experience.
I want everyone to remember this-----
Law enforcement wants to talk to only three groups of people----1) witnesses TO a crime, 2) Victims OF a crime, and 3) suspects who they think have committed a crime.
They never really ever request to talk to any other groups of people except these three groups.
You know if you are a victim of a crime or a witness to a crime. If you are neither one of those, you can bet you are a suspect.
In that case, never speak to law enforcement. There is nothing you can say that will help your case. Everything you say, no matter how innocent sounding to you----will be twisted to make you look guilty.
You are under no obligation to speak to law enforcement except to identify yourself.
Don't fall for their tactics such as-----
"We want to help you get this situation straightened out and we want to help." All they want to do is send you to prison and they want you to make it easier by opening your mouth. Keep it shut.
"The DA will give you a much better deal if you just tell us why you did this, if you cooperate." No, the DA will not. The cops have no influence on the DA. They are doing nothing but lying and they know it.
"You're not a suspect - just help us understand what happened here and then you can go." You ARE a suspect or they would not be talking to you.
The cops will tell you that they have all the evidence they need to convict you and that if you "take responsibility" and confess the judge will be impressed by your honesty and go easy on you. What they really mean is: "we don't have enough evidence yet, please confess."
They also play the "good cop, bad cop" game. One of the officers acts like an ass and they other seems to be your friend. You are so glad to not have to talk to the tyrant officer that you are more likely to spill the beans to Mr. Nice Cop.
Don't fall for that routine.
"We just want to hear your side of the story." Lie.
Many people fear if they don't say something in their defense that the police will think they are guilty and the cops will think bad of the. If you are already there with a cop in your face, they ALREADY do not like you, and the ALREADY feel you are guilty. They just want to seal the deal by making you talk.
Some people think that if they tell their story that the cops will believe them and be easy on them. Police are not judges. They do not weigh the evidence for or against a suspect. At this point, they are not there to play the role of a judge. This is another lie by policeman.
Many people say to me, "I would not know what to say to a cop if he wanted to question me regarding a crime." Simple---say these magic words. Officer, am I being detained? If he says "no" then get up and leave. If he says "yes" then here is the magic words----"I DO NOT TALK TO LAW ENFORCEMENT WITHOUT MY ATTORNEY PRESTENT. I WANT TO TALK TO MY ATTORNEY."
Simple as that. Memorize that phrase.
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution is there for a reason. USE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Many people have talked their way into prison, even innocent people.
Just be careful. They are not your friends.
rewdiazepam
PS Pass this advice along to your friends and your children.
Law enforcement wants to talk to only three groups of people----1) witnesses TO a crime, 2) Victims OF a crime, and 3) suspects who they think have committed a crime.
They never really ever request to talk to any other groups of people except these three groups.
You know if you are a victim of a crime or a witness to a crime. If you are neither one of those, you can bet you are a suspect.
In that case, never speak to law enforcement. There is nothing you can say that will help your case. Everything you say, no matter how innocent sounding to you----will be twisted to make you look guilty.
You are under no obligation to speak to law enforcement except to identify yourself.
Don't fall for their tactics such as-----
"We want to help you get this situation straightened out and we want to help." All they want to do is send you to prison and they want you to make it easier by opening your mouth. Keep it shut.
"The DA will give you a much better deal if you just tell us why you did this, if you cooperate." No, the DA will not. The cops have no influence on the DA. They are doing nothing but lying and they know it.
"You're not a suspect - just help us understand what happened here and then you can go." You ARE a suspect or they would not be talking to you.
The cops will tell you that they have all the evidence they need to convict you and that if you "take responsibility" and confess the judge will be impressed by your honesty and go easy on you. What they really mean is: "we don't have enough evidence yet, please confess."
They also play the "good cop, bad cop" game. One of the officers acts like an ass and they other seems to be your friend. You are so glad to not have to talk to the tyrant officer that you are more likely to spill the beans to Mr. Nice Cop.
Don't fall for that routine.
"We just want to hear your side of the story." Lie.
Many people fear if they don't say something in their defense that the police will think they are guilty and the cops will think bad of the. If you are already there with a cop in your face, they ALREADY do not like you, and the ALREADY feel you are guilty. They just want to seal the deal by making you talk.
Some people think that if they tell their story that the cops will believe them and be easy on them. Police are not judges. They do not weigh the evidence for or against a suspect. At this point, they are not there to play the role of a judge. This is another lie by policeman.
Many people say to me, "I would not know what to say to a cop if he wanted to question me regarding a crime." Simple---say these magic words. Officer, am I being detained? If he says "no" then get up and leave. If he says "yes" then here is the magic words----"I DO NOT TALK TO LAW ENFORCEMENT WITHOUT MY ATTORNEY PRESTENT. I WANT TO TALK TO MY ATTORNEY."
Simple as that. Memorize that phrase.
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution is there for a reason. USE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Many people have talked their way into prison, even innocent people.
Just be careful. They are not your friends.
rewdiazepam
PS Pass this advice along to your friends and your children.
Trust them, never. Not in situations where they can use it against you, and they do.
When my son was arrested, they had him in a tiny interrogation room for 6 hours. They kept taunting him to confess and implicate his friends. Over and over repeated the same thing, trying to put words in his mouth, and he wouldn't. Even when they kept saying his friends had snitched on him, he wouldn't.
The other night the Chief of Police came in to the store I work at. We got into a discussion about sex offenders, because a co worker's husband had been reported as touching their son, by this woman's ex. A blatant lie, because of bad feelings between them. I said to the chief of police, this is why the sex offender crap is not the truth, the public does not know the truth, it is a witch hunt in many cases, and so wrong to label all of them the same. I said many " sex offenders" did nothing but have someone that hated them or the person they are with. He said Oh I know that. I said but most of society doesn't know that. They accuse, they look down on them, they chastise them publicly and this needs to be fixed. He said Oh I realize that. We know which people are truly SO's and which aren't. I said but still when they move into a new area, they broadcast it to the area. He said Yea and I think that is wrong.
I always assume all the guards at the prison's for the most part are assholes.. but last night I went to see my fiance. The guard has to walk you over to the visit building because of construction. For some reason this guard, who I have never seen before decided to unload on me. He told me this is a crappy job, it ruins your life, most guards end up divorced, they lose their kids because they are never home and how they act when they get home. He admitted it isn't worth it and is not sure if he can hold out til retirement. I said Are you ever with your family? They have MANY days in a row of working, with few days off. He said No, I never get to see my kids, never get to go to their activities, always working or sleeping to get ready for work. He said the pressure they put on us to be how we are supposed to be here is too much.
Hmmm, wonder why this guard chose me to tell me all his feelings about being a guard. He said sometimes I don't like what I have to be like here.
I told him then maybe the money and the job are not for you. Maybe you should be with your family more and worry about how much money you make less. There are more jobs out there for you. Don't waste your kids childhood. They will resent you for a long time if you stay. He said You know, you are right.
Rew is right about not talking to them or trusting them in a arrest situation though.
Its intrasting that the screw told you that if he cang handle what his doing then why is he still there? I know it comes down to money but ism sure he would happy doing something else on less money....just my thoughts on what he told you.
The cops on the beat, the peons of the force, and many COs in prison are really decent guys. Basically, if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone. They look at their work as only a job and as a means to support their family.
Most of the time they are not trying to get someone tripped up in an interrogation situation, since they don't even perform interrogations; their mindset is completely different than those of detectives and federal agents.
Another reason I believe that the cop on the beat is a more decent person is that they have to patrol the community, they speak and interact with people, and they are a part of that community. It is very difficult to continue to be a real ass to the people of the neighborhood if you have to face them on a daily basis.
COs and other members in law enforcement are not usually very judgmental either; at least the COs I encountered weren't.
The big problem is with the detectives and members of federal law enforcements. These characters are intoxicated by the power their badges give them and they would shoot their mother through the head to get a conviction.
If you read trial transcripts and affidavits that they use to get warrants you would be amazed at how slippery these guys are when they do not want to tell the truth. I really is disgusting.
I read a lot of transcripts and depositions and these guys are accomplished liars of the greatest magnitude. Trust me.
Since most people have to do some rationalization when they know they are doing something wrong, detectives and federal law enforcement agents are no different.
They rationalize that the suspect is indeed guilty----and they are sure of it----so lying to get him convicted is just a means to a justifiable end.
In other words, they play judge and jury.
When I was in prison the COs were always very respectful to me and when I made my trips to the sheriff's office when I still was on the registry, they treated me well.
So, I hope I didn't shock you who know me, but I don't dislike all people in law enforcement, BUT I will never talk to any of them if I am the target of an investigation.
I mention these things because I don't want someone to talk to the cops and completely ruin their case----and that does happen. I don't know how many times I have helped someone with their case, which was greatly damaged---often beyond repair---because they spoke to the police.
rewdiazepam