contact with police: be careful

"if you've been stopped in a relatively calm environment, try to keep it that way. tell him your name and address (even though you are not required to) and perhaps a general description of what you are doing but do your best to say nothing more. same goes for the pat-down.

this is pretty difficult. after all, if the nice man in blue asks you what you do for a living, why not not tell him? if you've said you're on your way to your friend's house, why not give the address?

the answer is that you will incriminate yourself. whether it seems likely or not, this is the first phase of an investigation and the cop, by asking you questions, is interrogating you. he or she is listening carefully to everything you say and you aren't going to outwit them. cops have been trained for this and have got lots of practice, so don't expose yourself."

*excerpted from "you are going to prison" by jim hogshire, pg.10