The Lie, the Bluff and False Confessions
By John Reid & Associates
One of the most controversial aspects of criminal interrogation involves the use of trickery and deceit. While Federal and State Supreme Courts routinely uphold confessions that were obtained from interrogations during which the suspect was falsely told that there was incriminating evidence, academicians and psychologists have argued that lying to a suspect about having incriminating evidence is unethical, erodes the integrity of the criminal justice system and may induce an innocent suspect to confess.
Considering the necessity of dealing with criminal suspects on a somewhat lower moral plane than the average public, Supreme Court justices have rejected the ethical arguments. While there have been some restrictions placed on the use of trickery and deceit during an interrogation, e.g., manufacturing evidence against a suspect, the prevailing logic has been that merely lying to a suspect about having incriminating evidence would not be apt to cause an innocent person to confess. As a recent appeals court ruled, "such misrepresentations (lying about having evidence), of course may cause a suspect to confess, but causation alone does not constitute coercion..."
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Getting Through the Ultimate Tragedy
Sergeant Scott Barthelmass of the Overland (Mo.) PD heads up a Law Enforcement Funeral Assistance Team for the state of Missouri, one of a handful of such organizations active in the U.S.
On the saddest of days - when everything needs to go just right - are you sure your department would know how to conduct a proper police funeral?
At agencies where line-of-duty deaths are a rarity and there's no proven protocol in place for honoring a dead officer, the skill to do the right things may not match the will.
Sergeant Scott Barthelmass of the Overland (Mo.) PD can help.
A 17-year law enforcement veteran, Barthelmass heads up a Law Enforcement Funeral Assistance Team for the state of Missouri, one of a handful of such organizations active in the U.S. In the last four years, his group has helped plan and/or conduct 70 law enforcement funerals or memorials, ranging from those for retired officers who suffered fatal heart attacks to officers killed in car crashes or gunned down on-duty.
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Deputy's Observations: Why Do We Carry Handguns?
by Frank Hinkle
Reprinted from PoliceLink
Why do we carry handguns? It was a question asked of me many years ago while I had the honor to serve as the bailiff to a judge of the Superior Court. He was a remarkable man who spent most of his career as a top prosecutor in the District Attorney's office, but for three-years he served as one of the most respected judges of our criminal courts. It was one of the most interesting times in my career.
We called him "The Commander," a nickname that had been pinned on him by his colleagues in the DA's office. Many of them served as officers in our nation's military reserves, and at the same time that he became the chief-deputy of a branch office he also attained the rank of Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He eventually retired at the rank of captain, but there was just something about the moniker "The Commander" that fit him and it stuck with him for years.
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 Who Gets to Have Guns in Schools? - Can we Address this Issue Realistically?
By John Currie,
American Military University Over the last several weeks we have heard from the President, subject-matter experts, law enforcement, a bunch of politicians and nearly everyone else in our address book about how to prevent school children from being shot in their classrooms. The first issue we must get our arms around is the fact that this is now a reality.
In my 26 years in law enforcement, I saw a lot of very bad things happen, but I never thought there could or would be such evil perpetrated as that done at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. But yes, it did happen. Now, as police officers-as life-long public safety professionals-we are called upon to examine, determine and offer the best solutions for prevention. Simply stated, the country demands a realistic way to prevent a tragedy like this from reoccurring. Here are my thoughts.
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