NCJ Number
149835
Journal
Crime to Court: Police Officer's Handbook Dated: (August 1994) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1994
Length
24 pages
Annotation
The case considered in this program concerns the rules for determining whether a person being questioned by police officers is in custody, and thereby entitled to Miranda warnings.
Abstract
An officer's obligation to administer Miranda warnings attaches only when a person's freedom has been restricted in such a way that the court will consider that he was being held in custody at that point. That initial determination of custody depends on the objective circumstances of the interrogation, not on the subjective views held either by the interrogating officer or the person being questioned. Even a statement from a police officer that the person under interrogation is the prime suspect in a crime is not in itself dispositive of the custody issue, for some persons in that situation may have free movement until the police decide to make an arrest. The procedural portion of the program deals with pressure points and joint locks. Three elements needed in order for the principle of pain compliance to work are use of verbal commands, stabilization of the area where the officer intends to use the technique, and relief of pressure once the subject has complied.