3 ms·
> Turn over your billing records and other material you do have, but don't turn over anything you don't have, and be unfailingly polite, prompt, and not a dick.
by nzp 13y ago
> Turn over your billing records and other material you do have, but don't turn over anything you don't have, and be unfailingly polite, prompt, and not a dick.
No, in fact, when dealing with law enforcement you should be as uncooperative as possible. It is in your best interest. The expectation that if we are polite to some adversarial authority then they'll go easier on us seems quite widespread (seems to me it has some deep bio/psychological roots). Unfortunately, it's completely false. The police doesn't care the least bit if you are cooperative, polite, prompt, not a dick... In fact, they are trained to exploit one's urge to be polite, honest and helpful against you.
If law enforcement decides to come after you (for whatever reason), no politeness in the world is going to make them turn around and say: "Gee, what a nice fellow, we're sure sorry we wasted his time." They are there to get you, not to negotiate and make good first impressions. There is absolutely nothing you can say that can help you in any way.
The classic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1p3K3sC1Ec https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1p3K3sC1Ec
- rdl 13y agoIt's different if you're the target of an investigation vs. a service provider. If you're the target, you just have your lawyer give them as little as possible. If you're a service provider, on the advice of your counsel, there is actually a lot of cooperation you're forced to give them. And they have a pretty broad amount of discretion on how much of a hassle to be to a third party service provider.