My partner and I are working are at the duty station when we get a call from the communications center. Being missing person’s investigators, we respond for a critical missing person's case of an 11 year-old female, who did not come home from school. Upon arrival, we are met and briefed. We learned that the child is a local police lieutenant’s daughter, and also that she did not show up at school that day either (CTU, 2013). I instructed several uniformed police to start talking with neighbors to find out if any person might have seen something that morning. One neighbor said that when he departed to his job that morning, he remembered a male adult ambulating on the walkway following the child who was now missing. Even though the neighbor did not recognize him as being a local, he did provide us with a description of the person. My partner and I found a family that had a visiting relative named Sam, who fit the description. The focal point of the pursuit has been narrowed down to finding and talking with Sam, who is leaving town in a couple hours. Since I am the main detective on this case, I decided to go to the bus-stop and transport the suspect for questioning at the detective bureau. Since my movements would be judiciously looked over as I encountered the suspect at the bus stop, I needed to reflect on how I would approach him. I had to remember that while I was conducting the interview at the detective bureau, my objective was to find out what happened to the eleven year-old daughter of a local police lieutenant (CTU, 2013).
I needed to consider a few things with my inquiries, or my questions could turn into accusations (CTU, 2013). Whether questioning transpires at the criminality, on a street, or in a prison, if an individual is deprived of the freedom of action in any substantial manner, their Miranda rights must be read to them, even if the police just want to question the suspect and use the suspect's answers as evidence at trial. However, no Miranda warning is necessary if a person is not in custody, and whatever the individual states may be brought into play if that individual is later charged with a criminality. This more frequently occurs when an officer detains somebody on the street in order to interrogate that individual concerning a criminality, or the individual divulges a declaration of guilt prior to the police having a chance to provide the Miranda warnings (NOLO, 2013).
First, what rights are provided by Miranda? The United States Supreme Court case, in Miranda v. Arizona, established what is now well-known as the Miranda rights. This ensures that a suspect's civil rights are made up of the following immediately upon arrest: The right to remain silent, and if a person does say something, it could be wrought against that individual. People have the right to ask for an attorney, and to have that attorney at hand during every interrogation. If an attorney cannot be afforded, one will be selected for you. If the person decides to speak to the law enforcement officer, s/he has the freedom to halt the questioning at whatever time (NOLO, 2013).
The Miranda warnings are necessary the minute an individual is not allowed to abscond, and this same individual is being interrogated regarding the criminality s/he is in custody for. By law, a suspect cannot waive his/her Miranda Rights, until s/he has been informed of them (NOLO, 2013). These rights can be waived either in writing or verbally. A lawful waiver is basically an individual stating they will freely talk. A good idea for law enforcement is to ensure that the individual either signs a waiver and/or is recorded relinquishing these constitutional rights. There are several allowances made to this. An impulsive statement is a good example. If a person utters a statement, short of being asked, then the statement stands as allowable against them in a court of law. Simply put, “Do you understand these rights as I have explained them?” If the response is yes, then the next question is, “Are you willing to talk to me. If that answer is yes, then it is a lawful waiver (NOLO, 2013).”
References
Colorado Technical University, (2013). Interview and Interrogation, P1DB2 Task List, Retrieved
from ctuonline.edu/pages/MainFrame.aspx?ContentFrame=/Home/Pages/Default.aspx
NOLO, (2013). What Are Your Miranda Rights? Retrieved from http://www.nolo.com
/legal-encyclopedia/police-questioning-miranda-warnings-29930.html
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