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Talk to them if that's all they want to do. Be polite, truthful (without over-sharing) and record the meeting. Often times, I forget to turn off my digital vo

by eksith 13y ago

Talk to them if that's all they want to do. Be polite, truthful (without over-sharing) and record the meeting. Often times, I forget to turn off my digital voice recorder after lectures. I find recording and typing notes later to be easier than frantically jotting down notes; also even I can't read my own handwriting. If someone were to bump into me and have a chat, that's on the recording as well. Some time ago, I got a visit from two gentlemen from the FBI. They were very polite and respectful, even though my mom was very scared, they reassured her that this was just an exploratory meeting. They also prefixed my name with "Mr." which was a bit of a delight for me because I was still a teenager back then and used to "hey you". I think I probably still have their cards somewhere. Nothing really happened. They got an anonymous phone call regarding something I may have said in school and wanted to see if there was something to it. Turns out it was a panicked busybody (and this was after 9/11) and they weren't even that clear on what was said. It wasn't anything even remotely requiring a lawyer's presence.

Radim 13y ago
NO! Absolutely appalling advice. And dangerous. Perhaps excusable given your age and your "polite and respectful" experience, but please please be aware that following this advice could end in tragedy.
- dylangs1030 13y ago
  What would you suggest?
  - adventured 13y ago
    It's very simple. Do not talk to them. Talk to a lawyer.
alexholehouse 13y ago
It wasn't anything even remotely requiring a lawyer's presence. I want to agree with you, but how do you know that (I'm making the assumption here that you're not a lawyer, which may be incorrect)? This seems like the main issue - we (as in the common, non lawyery-types) don't necessarily know what things may or may not be incriminating. I'm not trying to instill a sense of fear, and I would always cooperate with law enforcement to the best of my abilities, but not at the risk of doing or saying something which could subsequently implicate me in something which is technically illegal and could get me arrested, convicted or deported.
- eksith 13y ago
  That's true, I'm definitely not a lawyer. But this wasn't an interrogation by a long stretch. We also have to keep in mind, this is during the meeting itself which was rather sudden. People have to learn the difference between knee-jerk self-censorship and turning informant at the first opportunity. There's a happy middle ground that's quite wide and don't involve paranoia induced silence or jingoism or fear inspired "collaboration" -- if that's the operative term -- with The Man. The alternatives are to say nothing or be evasive or "lawyer up" as the lingo says. None of which ensures their suspicion in you or something associated with you will die down or inspire confidence in your innocence. That doesn't mean you shouldn't explore your legal options. By all means, if you do receive a visit, the very next call should be to your lawyer with every bit of detail you have about the encounter. Hence the recording. But to shut up and say nothing is IMO unwise. If you are going to meet law enforcement, it may as well be on your own ground.
  - mattmanser 13y ago
    Bollocks. I've been arrested by the police before and spent 4 hours in a jail cell simply because I was driving in an old red car with another passenger. We were even driving in the wrong direction and had food in the car that we'd just bought. They were all sweetness and light until they turned up at my mate's house 30 minutes after 'chatting' to us and tossed it. Turned out nothing had even been stolen in the attempted burglary. You just don't know when it's suddenly going to go from a friendly chat to something incredibly distressing and you losing your freedom. They are not your friends and they will be fishing for anything they can use. Don't give them anything and you can't accidentally incriminate yourself.
    - notahacker 13y ago
      Do you seriously think they wouldn't have arrested you and thrown you in jail for at least 4 hours if you'd refused to speak to them? They are not your friends, but if you deny them the fishing trip they're even more likely to snag you with the trawl net.
jiggy2011 13y ago
Also possible that you were just lucky. If they had decided for whatever reason (like your choice of T shirt, tattoos , ZIP code or skin colour) that you were probably up to no good then things could have easily gone the other way for you.
- eksith 13y ago
  Haha! That's possible. I was wearing an AC/DC cannon t-shirt (loved that thing) so this was before my Marilyn Manson phase. I'm South Asian by descent.
madaxe 13y ago
You are quite likely still being monitored.
gcv 13y ago
In some states, it is illegal for you to record a conversation without the other party's consent. If you are hauled into court, your recording may be (1) used to chain another charge on you, or (2) be inadmissible as exonerating evidence. Some courts have ruled that LEOs can be recorded while performing official duties, but I don't think there is a definitive SCOTUS decision on this subject, and I wouldn't bet my freedom on this.
- thecodeore 13y ago
  That mainly pertains to Telecommunications and Wiretapping, of which the police have tried to twist and try to charge people with when recording them. However I do not know of any state that prohibits recording your own property. If that were the case then there would be zero security camera's anywhere.
  - SamReidHughes 13y ago
    Security cameras don't typically record sound, which I'm guessing makes them not illegal under such statutes. Or they're plainly obvious, at least it's plainly obvious that they're recording video, or at least in commercial spaces there are signs up mandated by law, or something. Anyway, you can't surreptitiously record a conversation you have with somebody on your own property in many states.

by eksith 13y ago

Radim 13y ago

NO! Absolutely appalling advice. And dangerous. Perhaps excusable given your age and your "polite and respectful" experience, but please please be aware that following this advice could end in tragedy.

dylangs1030 13y ago
What would you suggest?
- adventured 13y ago
  It's very simple. Do not talk to them. Talk to a lawyer.

alexholehouse 13y ago

It wasn't anything even remotely requiring a lawyer's presence. I want to agree with you, but how do you know that (I'm making the assumption here that you're not a lawyer, which may be incorrect)? This seems like the main issue - we (as in the common, non lawyery-types) don't necessarily know what things may or may not be incriminating. I'm not trying to instill a sense of fear, and I would always cooperate with law enforcement to the best of my abilities, but not at the risk of doing or saying something which could subsequently implicate me in something which is technically illegal and could get me arrested, convicted or deported.

eksith 13y ago
That's true, I'm definitely not a lawyer. But this wasn't an interrogation by a long stretch. We also have to keep in mind, this is during the meeting itself which was rather sudden. People have to learn the difference between knee-jerk self-censorship and turning informant at the first opportunity. There's a happy middle ground that's quite wide and don't involve paranoia induced silence or jingoism or fear inspired "collaboration" -- if that's the operative term -- with The Man. The alternatives are to say nothing or be evasive or "lawyer up" as the lingo says. None of which ensures their suspicion in you or something associated with you will die down or inspire confidence in your innocence. That doesn't mean you shouldn't explore your legal options. By all means, if you do receive a visit, the very next call should be to your lawyer with every bit of detail you have about the encounter. Hence the recording. But to shut up and say nothing is IMO unwise. If you are going to meet law enforcement, it may as well be on your own ground.
- mattmanser 13y ago
  Bollocks. I've been arrested by the police before and spent 4 hours in a jail cell simply because I was driving in an old red car with another passenger. We were even driving in the wrong direction and had food in the car that we'd just bought. They were all sweetness and light until they turned up at my mate's house 30 minutes after 'chatting' to us and tossed it. Turned out nothing had even been stolen in the attempted burglary. You just don't know when it's suddenly going to go from a friendly chat to something incredibly distressing and you losing your freedom. They are not your friends and they will be fishing for anything they can use. Don't give them anything and you can't accidentally incriminate yourself.
  - notahacker 13y ago
    Do you seriously think they wouldn't have arrested you and thrown you in jail for at least 4 hours if you'd refused to speak to them? They are not your friends, but if you deny them the fishing trip they're even more likely to snag you with the trawl net.

jiggy2011 13y ago

Also possible that you were just lucky. If they had decided for whatever reason (like your choice of T shirt, tattoos , ZIP code or skin colour) that you were probably up to no good then things could have easily gone the other way for you.

eksith 13y ago
Haha! That's possible. I was wearing an AC/DC cannon t-shirt (loved that thing) so this was before my Marilyn Manson phase. I'm South Asian by descent.

madaxe 13y ago

You are quite likely still being monitored.

gcv 13y ago

In some states, it is illegal for you to record a conversation without the other party's consent. If you are hauled into court, your recording may be (1) used to chain another charge on you, or (2) be inadmissible as exonerating evidence. Some courts have ruled that LEOs can be recorded while performing official duties, but I don't think there is a definitive SCOTUS decision on this subject, and I wouldn't bet my freedom on this.

thecodeore 13y ago
That mainly pertains to Telecommunications and Wiretapping, of which the police have tried to twist and try to charge people with when recording them. However I do not know of any state that prohibits recording your own property. If that were the case then there would be zero security camera's anywhere.
- SamReidHughes 13y ago
  Security cameras don't typically record sound, which I'm guessing makes them not illegal under such statutes. Or they're plainly obvious, at least it's plainly obvious that they're recording video, or at least in commercial spaces there are signs up mandated by law, or something. Anyway, you can't surreptitiously record a conversation you have with somebody on your own property in many states.