![]() The American criminal justice system is set up so that every person is “innocent until proven guilty” and that in order to prove someone’s guilt, the government must prove that guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.” This is a high standard to meet. Such lies by law enforcement officers are controversial because it can detract from the reliability of criminal proceedings. For example, police can lie to a suspect in telling them that their cohort already confessed to the crime. Law enforcement officers can lie to a suspect to elicit a confession. It is also important to understand that many things that seem like they are violations of one’s right are not violations at all. Other individuals cave to the stress and anxiety of being questioned by the police. An individual – in this situation or in any of the other strategies law enforcement uses to interrogate individuals – starts to feel it is in their best interest to speak to the law enforcement officers. The “good-cop” is more mellow and placates the suspect into thinking that the cops understand why the suspect committed the crime and that the cops could help if the suspect talks to them. The “bad-cop” hostilely questions the suspect, by stating that they know the suspect is guilty and nothing the suspect could say would change that. For example, a classic interrogation strategy, is the “good-cop, bad-cop” strategy. ![]() Law enforcement officers have many different strategies they use to interrogate a suspect. This is to weather down the suspect’s defenses and to get them to start conversing with the police, many times to their detriment. Other types of interrogation can involve intense questioning of suspects. Some questioning by police can be benign. However, apart from these obvious prohibitions, law enforcement officers have a great deal of flexibility in the interrogation of a suspect. This includes battery, torture, or making threats to a suspect. Law enforcement officers are prohibited from using any type of physical force to induce a confession or elicit answers to their questions. These safeguards are put in place to protect both the rights and safety of individuals as well as the integrity of the criminal justice system. There are restrictions on law enforcement interrogation techniques and constitutional protections for the individual in police custody. Law enforcement officers have a great deal of freedom to interrogate suspects. To an individual being questioned, police interrogations can be uncomfortable or even terrifying. However, in contrast to the tropes of extravagant drama and nail-biting suspense these programs portray to viewers, real police interrogations are not entertaining. Long a staple of late-night television, police interrogations are one of the most important facets of the criminal justice system. Police Interrogations – The Lawful, the Unlawful, and the Safeguards
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