How Officers Trick Suspects Who Have Children |
Police often manipulate suspects who have children into confessing or consenting to searches. The soft approach goes like this: Hey, I see you’re alone here with your kids, and I don’t want to make this any harder on you than necessary. I tell you what, if you’ll sign this form and answer a few questions, we’ll let you make some phone calls right now, to find someone who can come pick up the kids. The hard approach sounds like: You know, I could put in a call to Child Protective Services and have a social worker out here within the hour. Do you know how hard it is to get your kids back, once the county takes custody of them? This is a really tough situation, but it’s critical to say the Magic Words, I’m going to remain silent. I would like to see a lawyer, no matter how frightened and upset you feel. In the short term, if you refuse to cooperate with the police, they may take your children for a little while—but in the long term, you stand a much better chance of beating the criminal charges and coming home. When you answer questions or consent to searches, you sabotage your chances of winning your case or negotiating a favorable plea bargain—which may result in your going to jail or prison, where you won’t be available to your children for a long time. Remember that as long as there are relatives or a designated guardian who can take custody of your children, the authorities aren’t going to put your kids in foster care. The county has no interest in spending resources on caring for anyone’s children, if it doesn’t have to—and the authorities will be more than happy to turn them over to an appropriate guardian as soon as possible. You can shorten the amount of time your children have to wait to be rescued, if you designate a guardian in advance.1 To appoint a guardian, it’s best to check with a lawyer or law clinic—the procedure varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and you don’t want your child’s guardian to have to struggle to prove that she’s properly authorized. If your children are old enough to understand, have them memorize their guardian’s name and telephone number. While waiting to complete the arrangements to designate a legal guardian, you should prepare a letter giving certain adults permission to take care of your child in the event of an emergency. Such a letter is not a substitute for setting up a true guardianship, but it may convince the authorities to let the adults you’ve specified take temporary custody of your child. Sign and date the letter, and leave copies with your child’s school, your child’s doctor, and each of the adults named in the letter. |
