They don't need a confession to cite you for speeding. They already know if you were or not.
I've probably been pulled over 8 times in my life and only gotten two tickets. Who knows - this could have to do with my race or my demeanor - but in general I just try to act as honestly and apologetically as possible. I think most police officers are not trying to be jackasses, and the ones that are will ticket you whether or not you "fess up" or not anyway.
(This probably doesn't hold if you are carrying drugs or going 25mph over, but otherwise I don't think it helps to treat these interactions so adversarially)
Interesting that they use such an underhanded phrasing, if their intentions are only good. Why not "do you know that your tail light is out?"