When you go to court, you have to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth – at least, that’s what most people assume. They don’t believe that they are allowed to lie to the authorities.
And this is true, at least if you’re on the stand. But most of your encounters with the authorities may take place outside of the courtroom. During the arrest or interrogation, for example, do the police have to tell you the truth? Or are they allowed to lie to you?
The police can lie to you
Often, people make the assumption that they’re not allowed to lie to the police and they follow this up with the assumption that the police have to be honest with them. It is very important to break down this myth — because it is certainly not true.
In actuality, the police can generally lie to you if they would like to do so. They may do this in order to mislead you or get you to incriminate yourself.
For instance, imagine that two people get arrested on suspicion of a crime. Both of them are separated for the interrogation, and they both deny doing anything wrong. But the police may go to each person and tell them that the other individual confessed to all of their crimes. They’re just doing this to manipulate both people into making a confession, believing they’ve already been implicated.
What are your options?
The fact that the police can lie to you is just one reason why you don’t want to talk to them without your legal team at your side. Be sure that you know about all of the options that you have and the steps you need to take.
