In Colorado, detectives can contact you if you’re suspected of a crime or a potential witness to a crime—even if you didn’t take part in that crime. Seeing police officers knock on your door can be a scary thing. Getting a call from a detective out of the blue about a criminal investigation is worse. Learn why the police may contact you and what to expect during the interaction. Statistically, about 68% of suspects are charged or arrested based on self-incriminating statements made to police investigators. Knowing your constitutional rights before making that call may be the difference between being charged and arrested or never getting charged with a crime! PLEASE CALL A LAWYER FIRST.
A detective may call you for many reasons or request that you stop by their police station. They may be trying to gather information about a crime that has occurred or locate a person of interest.
However, a detective calling you could also mean that you are THE suspect in a crime. Law enforcement uses tools such as intersection video cameras and license plate readers. The police may have conducted an investigation, interviewed witnesses (or conducted forensic interviews), obtained your DNA, gathered your information from social media posts, or triangulated your cell phone to the crime scene. They might have enough evidence, and you may not be informed about what they possess. This is a tactic used by law enforcement to catch you. We have a different tool to counter them that we’ll address later.
How Long Does It Take for a Detective to Contact You?
There isn’t a specific time frame within the law for when a detective must contact you after a crime is reported. The timeline for contact can vary depending on the nature of the case, the urgency, the workload of the law enforcement agency, and the evidence they are testing. In some serious crimes or situations, time is of the essence. A detective may contact individuals within hours or days. In less urgent cases, or where they are waiting on DNA or subpoenaing records (i.e., banks, social media, etc.), it could take 6 months. Please do not let your guard down.
If you are the victim of a crime or witness in a case and haven’t been contacted, you can follow up with the law enforcement agency handling the investigation for updates.
Can Police Bring You in for Questioning Without a Warrant?
YES. Police can bring you in for questioning without a warrant under certain conditions. They cannot force you to go with them unless you’re under arrest. If law enforcement wants to ask you probative questions, they may invite you to the station voluntarily. It is your choice to voluntarily go or not. You have the right to decline unless you are being arrested. However, even if you go voluntarily for questioning, you can leave at any time unless you are placed under arrest.
If the police have probable cause to believe you’ve committed a crime, they can arrest you without a warrant and then question you. However, you are not required to answer questions once arrested, as you have the right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment and the right to legal counsel.
What You Need to Say When a Detective Wants to Speak with You?
If you’re the suspect in an investigation, detectives will likely contact you. Do you have to talk to them? Too many people think that if they have nothing to hide, they should clear the air and address any misunderstanding with law enforcement. However, this could be the biggest mistake of your life. By willingly talking to the detectives, you allow them to get something out of you that you didn’t mean to say—or say something due to the pressure of talking to the police.
Do You Have to Talk to Detectives?
In most cases, the answer is PROBABLY NO, but every case is different. It is typically recommended that you exercise your right to remain silent or request legal counsel. We cannot provide blanket legal advice of yes or no; your case is unique. That is why you should call an attorney before contacting them again.
What Should I Say to the Police Until I Talk to an Attorney?
It is generally best to say nothing. Do not call them back. Call an attorney for legal advice for your unique situation. The problem occurs when a detective calls you unexpectedly on the phone or shows up at your work or home in person. What should you say? Most attorneys would tell you to exercise your rights. More specifically, you would like to preserve your (in this order):
- Fifth Amendment (right against self-incrimination and right to remain silent)
- Sixth Amendment (right to have an attorney present at all questioning) and
- Fourth Amendment (right to be free from unlawful search and seizure).
Look at your hand—4 fingers and 1 thumb—always start with your 5th Amendment right first.
The Constitution is the tool you have to protect yourself. By doing this, you may protect yourself from admitting something you didn’t mean to and giving them probable cause. This also gives your criminal defense attorney more opportunity to defend you because they are not restricted by the statements you made to the police. You aren’t admitting your guilt by exercising your constitutional rights. The police are trained that anything you say can still be used against you even though you haven’t been arrested and read your Miranda rights. By talking to detectives, you only make the prosecutor’s job easier and put yourself in jeopardy of being charged with a very serious crime.
What to Do If a Detective Calls You?
If you’re contacted by a detective, you should talk to a lawyer right away. Hire a lawyer to understand your unique situation and hire a lawyer to speak to law enforcement on your behalf. They may mitigate circumstances to avoid you being charged or arrested. It is generally in your best interest to seek legal advice before it is too late. By staying a step ahead of the game, you ensure you have the best legal defense options if your case does go to trial.
Often, when a detective calls someone and speaks to them over the phone regarding allegations, this conversation is recorded without the person’s knowledge. Too often, people say things over the phone that a skillful Deputy District Attorney will twist and come back to haunt a suspect. If you talk to a detective over the phone, you should always assume the conversation is being recorded.
Talking to a Detective on the Phone: Pretextual Calls or Texts
A pretextual phone call (or text message) is another tool of law enforcement. Detectives frequently have a spouse, a friend, or someone in your inner circle call you or text you on their behalf. Generally, the police are there telling the person what to say on the recorded line or what to write in the text message. This is not entrapment. This is 100% legal as a tool of law enforcement. That person might attempt to keep you talking in the hopes that you will say something that can be used against you. The police have that conversation recorded. This is called a pretextual phone call and is completely within the detective’s rights during an investigation. The detectives will instruct the person calling you to make promises, such as, “We can get back together if you just tell me the truth,” or, “I need to hear you say you are sorry so I can get closure, move on, and never tell the police.”
The police are trained to use the people close to you to win at all costs. They can even go as far as to put a wire on someone you trust who is instead acting as an agent of the police, trying to get you to make statements that could incriminate you. The best thing to do is not speak with anyone about the details of your case except your criminal defense attorney.
Police are not restricted in any way from getting the information they need. They can tell you whatever they need to get you to make a statement they can twist as an admission. Even if you say you didn’t do something 100 times, they will continue to probe and try to get you to say something one time. A common tool of law enforcement is when they agree with you and pretend to believe you. You emotionally feel that they’re on your side. You begin to trust them. The police want to and will manipulate your trust to get whatever evidence they need to make their criminal case. They are not here to help you; it is an adversarial system. They are your adversaries. They are paid and promoted to catch you and obtain an arrest and a felony conviction.
Talking to a Detective in Person
Speaking to a detective in person, especially within a police department, poses significant risks. While such encounters may seem harmless, they can lead to individuals inadvertently incriminating themselves.
Inside a police department, the atmosphere can be intimidating. This heightened sense of authority may lead you to say things you didn’t intend or fully understand. The police know that you are generally more agreeable in a room of a certain size and paint color, especially after being left alone for at least seven minutes. Detectives are trained in interrogation techniques and may use pressure tactics to elicit incriminating statements. Millions of dollars are spent every year training law enforcement on the best psychological tools to trip people up in interrogation rooms. Without legal counsel present, you may unknowingly provide information that could be misconstrued or used against you later. We have even had clients who were never charged with committing the crime they were interrogated for but were charged with false information to law enforcement.
Therefore, it is incredibly important to exercise caution and understand your rights before engaging with law enforcement in person.
Can a Police Officer Lie to You?
Yes. That is what is so scary about the police calling you or showing up at your house. Our Supreme Court has stated that “deception” is absolutely allowed. The courts recognize that it is a potent tool of law enforcement to deceive a suspect. This means they can legally tell you that you are not a suspect in a crime or that they are just trying to clear things up when that is not 100% true. They are trying to trick you. This allows law enforcement to obtain admissible information (in the case against you) that they otherwise would not be able to ascertain.
If you lie to the police, that is a charge they just recorded you committing. If that feels incredibly unfair, you now see how the playing field is not level.
If you get a call from the police telling you, “You did not do anything wrong, and you are not a suspect, but tell me what you saw the other night at the bar?” and you respond, “NOTHING,” you could be convicting yourself in a trial. Why? Because you have just placed yourself at the time, place, and location of the crime scene. Oops. If they believe you were involved in the fight, stabbing, etc., your response of “NOTHING” would imply that you denied any responsibility when given the chance, and that is what they would present to the jury.
Remember, never answer phone calls from numbers you don’t know. If someone has something important to say, they’ll leave a message. If a detective leaves you a voicemail, you can easily forward it to your attorney so you don’t unintentionally put yourself in harm’s way when you call back. Hiring a criminal lawyer from the start has made the difference between a conviction and not being charged for some of our clients!
Why You Need a Criminal Defense Lawyer
In Colorado, you have protections, such as the right to legal representation if a detective contacts you. Never answer a phone number you don’t know, and if someone shows up at your door, tell them you need to reach out to your attorney to speak with them on your behalf. It is your right, under the law, to have a lawyer present, and it’s the best thing you can do for yourself if a detective contacts you.
You may or may not have any idea why a detective is reaching out to you. In either case, you should protect your own best interests and steer clear of any conversations that could incriminate you, your friends, or family members down the line.
Contact the Law Offices of M. Colin Bresee for a free consultation before sharing your side of the story with law enforcement. Mr. Bresee has decades of experience and is very familiar with our justice system. He is also dedicated to providing compassionate and comprehensive legal support to Coloradans across the state. He proudly serves clients in the following areas:
- Arapahoe County, including Aurora, Centennial, Englewood, Greenwood Village, and Littleton
- Adams County, including Thornton and Westminster
- Denver County
- Douglas County, including Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, and Parker
- El Paso County, including Colorado Springs and Security-Widefield
- Gilpin County, including Central City
- Jefferson County, including Arvada and Lakewood
- Weld County, including Greeley and Longmont
Bottom line: please call an experienced criminal defense attorney immediately, just to be safe! Even if you choose a different law firm, it’s important to protect yourself as soon as possible. Always remember to contact a lawyer first—not the detective—if you believe they are trying to prosecute you.
Disclaimer: Neither this page nor any other on the website constitutes legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
