Questions to Ask in a Police Interview
Questions to ask if police want to question you, covering whether you are free to leave, how to ask for a lawyer, consent to searches, what record is being kept, and what happens next. This page is general information, not legal advice.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Am I free to leave?
Why ask it
This separates a voluntary conversation from a detention, and the two follow different rules. If the answer is yes, leaving is an option; if it is no, ask what you are being held for.
Am I being detained, and what for?
Why ask it
A plain statement of the reason gives you something to remember and repeat later. Note the exact words, because they may differ from what appears in a written report.
Am I under arrest?
Why ask it
Arrest and a brief stop carry different rules about questioning and searches in most places. Asking directly avoids acting on a guess about which one you are in.
Are you asking me to answer questions, or telling me I have to?
Why ask it
Requests are often phrased like instructions. The answer makes clear whether anything you say next is something you chose to say.
I would like a lawyer. Can I contact one now?
Why ask it
This is a statement rather than a question, and saying it plainly matters. Hedged versions, such as saying you think you might want a lawyer, have been treated as not asking for one.
Can someone be contacted on my behalf?
Why ask it
Ask about a lawyer, a family member, and if you are not a citizen of the country you are in, your consulate. Practice varies, and asking creates a record that you asked.
Is this interview being recorded?
Why ask it
Audio, video and handwritten notes produce very different records. If nothing is being recorded, expect the only account of this conversation to be the officer's summary of it.
Am I a suspect or a witness here?
Why ask it
The answer can change during a conversation, and an assurance that you are only a witness does not prevent that. Officers may also decline to say.
What am I suspected of?
Why ask it
Ask for the offense by name. In many places officers may describe their evidence selectively or inaccurately during questioning, so treat what you hear as their account rather than as the case.
Do you have a warrant?
Why ask it
If there is one, ask to read it and note what it authorizes, including the address and the items listed. Officers may also have lawful grounds to search without a warrant.
Are you asking for my consent to search, or searching without it?
Why ask it
Consent can waive objections that might otherwise be raised later. Saying clearly that you do not consent will not stop a search, but it records where you stood.
Are you asking me to unlock my phone?
Why ask it
Handing over an unlocked phone is usually treated as agreeing that everything on it can be read. Whether you can be required to give a passcode, and whether a fingerprint or face unlock is treated differently, varies by place, so this is a point for a lawyer rather than a decision to make at the roadside.
Can I read this before I sign it?
Why ask it
Read the whole document, including any summary of what you said. If a sentence is not how you said it, say so before signing rather than afterward.
Can we take a break?
Why ask it
Long sessions, hunger and tiredness change what people say. Asking creates a record of the request, and the response tells you how this interview is being run.
I need medical attention. Can that be arranged?
Why ask it
Say plainly what you need, including any medication you take on a schedule. Raise it immediately rather than waiting for the interview to finish.
Is an interpreter available?
Why ask it
Ask if you are not fully comfortable in the language being used, including its legal terms. Answering in a second language under pressure produces statements you did not mean to make.
Could you ask that one question at a time?
Why ask it
Long or compound questions produce answers to something you were not asked. Slowing the pace is a reasonable request and keeps the record accurate.
Are you asking me to take a test, and is it optional?
Why ask it
Breath, blood and polygraph tests carry different consequences for refusal depending on where you are. Ask what declining means here before you decide.
What happens next?
Why ask it
Ask whether you are being released, charged or held, and whether you will be contacted again. Ask for any court date or reference number in writing.
Can I have a copy of what I signed, and a case or report number?
Why ask it
A reference number lets a lawyer find the file later. Note the names and badge numbers of everyone present at the same time.
If You Are Questioned by Police
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before You Read Further
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules on stops, detention, silence, searches and access to a lawyer differ by country and by state, and they differ again for minors, for drivers, and at borders. If you can speak to a lawyer before answering questions, do that.
Two Things to Get Right
Ask for a lawyer in plain words
Something close to "I want a lawyer" is clear. Softer phrasing, such as wondering aloud whether you should have one, has been found not to count as asking, and questioning may continue.
If you are not answering, say so and then stop
Staying quiet without explanation can be ambiguous. Saying that you are not going to answer questions, and then not answering, is clearer than answering some and stopping partway through.
Stay still and stay civil
Declining to answer is not the same as resisting. Keep your hands visible, do not argue about whether a stop is lawful, and save the disagreement for a lawyer and a court.
Write This Down Afterwards
- The time the conversation started and ended, and where it happened
- Names and badge numbers of everyone present
- Whether you were told you could leave, and when
- Whether you asked for a lawyer, in what words, and what was said in reply
- Anything you signed, and whether you were given a copy
- Any case, report or booking number
- Names of any witnesses who were nearby
Common Pitfalls
Trying to clear things up
Most damaging statements come from people explaining themselves rather than from confessions. An explanation given without a lawyer cannot be withdrawn later.
Treating a description of the evidence as fact
In many places officers are permitted to overstate what they have. Adjusting your account to fit what you are told can create a contradiction that is hard to undo.
Consenting to end an awkward moment
Consent to a search is often given because refusing feels rude. Declining politely is allowed, and it does not make you a suspect.
Guessing rather than saying you do not know
Times, distances and dates are easy to get wrong under stress, and a wrong guess can look like a lie. It is fine to say you are not sure.