Topic : 01/09 False Confessions

So we all can agree the system is flawed and that there are bad officers out there, agreed. But I stand for all the GREAT ones who are out there who got into this job to serve their community and try to reduce the number of "bad guys" on the streets. I love my job as a cop. Everyday is something different and even more challenging because I am a female.

I have met many good interrogators and interviewers who do a fine job and have the skill and talent of talking to people and finding out the truth.

As far as I am aware there is no "deadline" for a case/file to close and as long as it takes to find out who the offender is, so be it. I dont remember who said that a pile up of files gets you fired, because I have never seen this happen in this career. Supervisors would rather you complete the file correctly and cover EVERYTHING rather than just close it and move on. This, I believe is a misconception amoung the public. In addition to that, I have never seen or heard of an interrogator/interviewer BEAT the truth out of someone! We do NOT deprive people of food, water, the bathroom and other things like that. If you people knew anything about interrogation than you would realize it is better for the interviewer to befriend the accused in question rather than treating them like animals. Too much C.S.I perhaps, or too many movie, Im not sure but the tactics used by professionally trained interviewers and the strategies would never be divulged to the public, as questioned in a previous post by someone on here.

So I ask that those who are anti-police and do not trust them, realize that Police officers are humans too and a bad or busy day affects our attitude and we may come off arrogant but alot of the time that is because we treat any interaction with the public as high risk and are always on "alert" preparing for something bad to happen. It is the nature of the Police, and it is for our safety as well as yours.

This is exactly the kind of lies and made up nonsense that I am talking about regarding this topic.

This is unbelieveable really! Of course, everyone in jail is always "innocent" of their crime, but this story is just rediculous. You would think that the highest authority, were talking FBI here (apparently), would look at this from all angles and not just believe the husband's word over his wifes...give me a break.

Everything this person has posted leads me to believe there is much more to their story than they are saying and that they did do something wrong, but as every criminal I meet they are always "innocent" and never did anything wrong! Please.

WOW.

To provide an answer to this question would perhaps be considered IMO to violate the police code of ethics and oath of confidentiality. As an officer the tactics we use are not public information and the public need not know the way we operate internally out of the public eye. And before you all jump on me, realize that deprivation of essentials such as water, food, smoke breaks, bathroom would only prove to hinder an investigation and interrogation process. Thus treating suspects like animals proves to be unfavorable for the investigator & suspect relationship in the process of interrogation.

All the above mentioned tactics in the quoted post, perhaps do have some validity in the interview process, but I have yet to see a confession beaten out of someone---that's for the movies.

I  have been raised to respect the police and I still do. I have met more respectable ones who are dedicated to there profession than not.  You mentioned that it is important to know about a case and the person that you are talking to first.  That is what is supposed to be done and a dedicated police officer will do that.  My family has had the misfortune to have had a tragety in our family and had a police officer who  did not follow his training. Training like you mentioned Because he did not follow his training he did  know enough about the case. The end result was a false confession and a conviction because of it. Evidence of innocence was found after my son's conviction and hopfully it will be accepted. So continue to stress the importance of knowing as much as you can about a case before an interview. An innocent persons life can depend upon it. 

Justin's family has the support of the entire town to help them cope with their loss.  They had a tremendous loss, but are at least allowed to heal.  Jon and his family face shunning and persecution.  Jon was marked as a patsy and everyone is going along with it.

God bless ALL the wonderful law enforcement officers who help solve crimes and DO get the bad guy!

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For every bad apple, there are hundreds of good ones. This is across the board, regardless of profession. The media and we humans LOVE hearing about the bad ones...sadly.

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The biggest problem is that we Americans do NOT know our rights. It is up to each one of us to know them. We are read our M. Rights and it's our job to understand them. When we are asked if we want a lawyer, we're fools if we say "No." Police questioning ends when a lawyer is requested. That's to protect our rights under the Constitution.

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I pity those who have falsely confessed and I dispise those who knowingly "went after" an innocent person just to close a case. HOWEVER, those cases still are but a tiny percentage in the big scheme of things. We need to keep things in perspective!