https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE
obligatory “don’t talk to the police” link.
obligatory “don’t talk to the police” link.
The friendliest police officer in the world is not your friend
The police aren't your friend. They're also not your enemy.
Talking to the police as part of an investigation doesn't make you a suspect. Seriously, how do people think criminal investigations are done? Talking to witnesses is a huge part of investigating. People very rarely finger themselves as potential suspects; it's almost always the other witnesses who identify them as suspects.
If you're worried that you've done something wrong, talk to a lawyer first. 99.9% of the time, they'll tell you it's fine. Of course, if you tell the police you need to talk to your lawyer first, they'll want to know why you think you need a lawyer; if I were your lawyer, that's the first thing I'd wonder too. And if you weren't considered a potential suspect before you definitely will be on their short list after.
If cops were obligated to be honest in more respects I would be more willing to open up, but of course they don't want any restrictions in that area. Cops in the US want to be able to lie whenever it's convenient and also have everyone trust them, but that's not a very fair bargain for the general public.
And if the police say something seemingly benign that causes you grief, you can look forward to a large-ish settlement to make up for your troubles.
People on HN rarely interact with the police and it seems they have an unrealistic, media-driven perception of how cops actually act. For point of reference, it's the same as how non-techies assume that every tech employee can hack their way into a bank account or rig together a go-kart from spare parts.
Cops are not as bad as people think they are. Cops behaving badly (in the U.S.) is news because it is the exception and not the norm.
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/detailli...
30% These convictions aren't the result of people talking to the police and then getting screwed over. The overwhelming majority of them are the result of cross-racial witness identifications.
To put it bluntly: most wrongful convictions are due to racism on the part of prosecution witnesses.
edit: Saw that the professor, James Duane [0], has his own Wikipedia page, almost entirely on the popularity of the Youtube lecture. Even more surprising, his Talk page seems to be free of debate over Duane's notability. Pretty impressive for a single videoed lecture!
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/School-to-prison_pipeline
"Don't Talk to the Police Part 2" - https://youtu.be/tIt-l2YmH8M