Can The Police Lie to You During A Criminal Investigation?

investigation – especially when undergoing interrogation by police. A popular concern is whether you can trust the information that the police present to you during the arrest process or during a police interrogation.

Police Interrogation Tactics

It’s been proven that police officers may employ deceptive tactics to elicit confessions from suspects. This could involve:

Manufacturing Evidence: Claiming the existence of witnesses or evidence against the suspect which may not actually exist.
Misrepresenting Materials: Pointing to materials or evidence boxes, which are in fact empty, to pressure suspects into talking.

Legality of Deceptive Practices

Surprisingly, the use of deception during interrogations is a widely accepted and completely legal technique within Canadian law enforcement. It’s considered part of effective policing strategies to encourage suspects to talk. It is an unfortunate reality that police can legally lie about evidence, witnesses, and other aspects of the investigation to persuade you to confess. In many cases, confessions obtained through such tactics are admissible in court. Judges may accept these confessions, leading to possible conviction.

The Importance of Remaining Silent

Given the nature of these tactics and for various other reasons, you must exercise your right to remain silent. When faced with police questioning, especially under suspicion of a crime:

Understand Your Rights: Recognize your right to remain silent and practice it!
Avoid Self-Incrimination: Refraining from speaking to the police can prevent unintentional self-incrimination.
Avoiding Inconsistencies: exercising your right to remain silent during stressful police questioning, can also avoid creating inconsistencies and omissions during your testimony at your trial.

Do You Need Legal Assistance?

At Kruse Law Firm, we are experienced in providing the strategic defence and comprehensive legal support necessary to protect your rights and secure your future.

If you find yourself or a loved one is entangled in a criminal investigation, do not face it alone. We are here to offer the experienced guidance and strong representation you need.

Video Transcription:

I have had many clients say to me over the years, “Look Mike, the police lied to me , I was in the confession room and they were making up evidence against me , saying there’s this witness and that witness, and they were pointing to empty boxes which turns out to be empty boxes of materials in an attempt to get me talking and a confession and I felt so much pressure, as a result over lies which I thought was the truth that I eventually gave a confession. “Are the police allowed to lie ? Unfortunately, this is a very accepted technique, that is good policing it happens all the time, it’s one of the reason why you should remain silent. In the face of a police investigation when you are being a accused of a crime, and the police have various techniques including the read technique, is a really clever technique which I covered in a blog, about how to get you talking but one of the accepted tactics is to lie to you, because the case against you is overwhelming , you might as well help yourself out now , you get talking about it , and when that case goes to trial, sometimes there’s no way to kick out that confession and the judge is going to say “ yeah, certainly the police are allowed to lie, you are convicted” So that’s something to keep in mind, and you should always bear in mind, the exercise your right to remain silent in the face of police questioning when you are being accused of a crime or under suspicion by the police. I cover that topic in another blog or video which you should watch as well. So that in a nutshell is the answer to the question, “Can the police lie in interrogation?” Absolutely, they can.

By Michael KrusePublished On: August 4, 2023Last Updated: July 21, 2025Categories: General, Video

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