In the last month I have been contacted by multiple people who have received phone calls from detectives asking them to come in for questioning. The most recent involved a case in Chicago where someone is suspected of rape years ago and in Lake County where the Waukegan police want to ask someone about involvement in a burglary.
None of these people have been arrested. Yet. They all had the same question.
What should I do?
The Number One Thing To Do If Chicago Police Or Anyone Else Wants To Question You
If the police in Chicago, Waukegan, Wheaton or wherever want to talk to you, there is one thing every Illinois criminal defense attorney will tell you to do. In the words of the Black Eyed Peas
That is right. Shut up. Do not say anything. Do not talk at all.
Should You Not Talk To The Police If You Are Innocent?
Do not talk to the police if you are innocent either. Do you think that innocent people don’t ever get arrested? Happens all of the time. It shouldn’t, but it does. The police are not looking out for you and can certainly twist your words around. And in extreme cases, they get people to confess to things they have never done. That sounds crazy, but there are many people who have been freed after evidence shows that the police kept them up for a long period of time and then coerced them into confessing something they were innocent of.
Anything you say can and will be use against you. And some crooked cops take that to an extreme. And some honest cops can misinterpret what you are saying.
Beyond that, I have been told stories by “innocent” people who, if they repeated that story to law enforcement, would be arrested. It is usually someone who thinks they are acting in self defense or unknowingly committed a crime like retail theft or trespass.
What Do I Do If The Police Want To Meet?
Doing nothing is not a great idea in most cases. You still need to shut up and not talk to them. You can even shut up and dance.
The best way to protect yourself is to get an attorney to contact the police for you and see what they want. They can answer any questions the police have and accompany you to a meeting if needed.
Anything a lawyer you hire says can not be used against you. And an experienced Illinois criminal defense attorney knows what not to say and how to answer questions. They will protect you.
The person being investigated for possible rape who called me really did not want to spend money on an attorney. The point of getting one now is that it can help prevent you from being arrested at all. It might cost $1,500 up front to get a top lawyer to speak to the police for you. But if you get arrested and prosecuted for a felony, that would cost you ten times that amount. And of course if you get convicted, you are probably going to jail and in the case of this person, they would be labeled a sex offender.
The best thing you can do after keeping your mouth shut it to get someone who knows what they are doing to advocate for you. If you do have information that shows you are innocent, having an attorney present it will put you at no risk and greatly increase your chances of success.
It is certainly scary getting this type of phone call from the cops. If you are not scared, you are not taking it seriously. But the good news is that the right attorney can give you the best chance of the best possible outcome.
If you would like to know who we as lawyers would hire if the police wanted to talk to us, give us a call at 312-346-5320. All calls are confidential. We were learn about your case and give you unbiased advice as to what the next proper steps are.
