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Lies, True Lies, and Conscious Deception: Police Officers and the Truth
Geoffrey P. Alpert, Ph.D.1*
and
Jeffrey J. Noble Esq.2
1 University of South Carolina
2 Irvine, California Police Department
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: geoffa{at}gwm.sc.edu.
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Abstract |
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Police officers often tell lies; they act in ways that are deceptive, they manipulative people and situations, they coerce citizens, and are dishonest. They are taught, encouraged, and often rewarded for their deceptive practices. Officers often lie to suspects about witnesses and evidence, and they are deceitful when attempting to learn about criminal activity. Most of these actions are sanctioned, legal, and expected. Although they are allowed to be dishonest in certain circumstances, they are also required to be trustworthy, honest, and maintain the highest level of integrity. The purpose of this article is to explore situations when officers can be dishonest, some reasons that help us understand the dishonesty, and circumstances where lies may lead to unintended consequences such as false confessions. The authors conclude with a discussion of how police agencies can manage the lies that officers tell and the consequences for the officers, organizations, and the criminal justice system.
First published on November 17, 2008, doi:10.1177/1098611108327315
Police Quarterly 2009;12:237.
A more recent version of this article appeared on June 1, 2009
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