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13 deception cues that can help you nail drug runners

By Police1 Senior Contributor Chuck Remsberg
Sponsored by Blauer

Motivated officers know that during a traffic stop, asking the right questions and spotting key indicators of deception can make a world of difference to what that stop ultimately yields. Just ask the Texas DPS, which recently announced that their troopers turned many of last year’s “routine” traffic stops into major drug arrests and a record-breaking haul of coke, pot and meth. Total tally: more than 1,000 pounds of drugs off the streets and more than $300 million kept out of the pockets of drug dealers.

In light of their success, and in support of yours, I’d like to remind Police1 members of the following deception cues that can surface during a conversation. Spotting them can help you make the potentially career-changing decision to “go beyond the ticket” and pull in the big drug fish.

Stalling

Generally, when someone is asked a question they can truthfully answer, their response time is short. On the other hand, when someone doesn’t want to tell you the truth, they will delay answering in an effort to buy enough time to come up with what they think is a plausible lie.

When you’re talking with someone, stay alert for stall tactics like stammering (“Uummm,” “Aahhh,” Hhmmm…”), repeating the question or asking you to repeat it, excessive coughing or throat clearing, and staged revulsion and an overly dramatic response to a pointed question (“How dare you ask me if I’m carrying anything illegal! Are you accusing me? I won’t even answer a question like that!”) Others try to buy time by launching a prolonged, irrelevant diatribe following your question—talking about how long a day they’ve had, how their car has been acting up, how hot the weather has been. Nothing to do with the question, but buying them time to think.

Changing answers

When a suspect gives you an emphatic answer to a critical question (Question: “Are you carrying anything illegal in your car?” Answer: No!!!), follow up with, “Are you sure?” If the suspect backs away from the initially emphatic refusal of wrong-doing to a more wishy washy “Well, maybe, but…” or “Actually, I’m not sure,” red flags should go up. Hedging an answer can be a key indicator of attempted deception and guilt.

Being overly polite

Most officers can spot when someone they have pulled over is being legitimately polite and illustrating common courtesy. You can also spot politeness that is laced with sarcasm, illustrating subtle disdain but not necessarily indicating any major criminal activity. Stay alert, however, for those who will seize every opportunity to be extremely polite to you. This can include a refusal to speak unless you have granted them permission to do so, an overly abundant use of “Sir” or “Ma’am”, or an almost comical level of willingness to cooperate with you. Most “normal” people will show some level of discontent with being given a ticket, but someone with something bigger to hide than a speeding infraction may try to convince you that he couldn’t be happier that you’ve corrected the error of his speeding ways, hoping the contact will end there.

Bargaining

Avoid being lured into stories that try to put the suspect in your good graces and bargain for preferential treatment. These can be things like descriptions of good deeds done, claims of being one of the “good guys” and a big police supporter, or sad tales of illness and hardship. Bargaining can also take the form of flirting, claims of being the friend or relative of a cop or being a close associate of a person of influence. Ignore bargaining efforts, unless you find you can use them to your advantage.

Using religion

Take note if a suspected mule suddenly begins repeatedly using religious references (“I swear to God,” “As God as my witness,” “I promise on the Bible,”) or claiming that you have nothing to worry about because his deep religious devotion wouldn’t allow him to do anything wrong. Also watch for ostentatious displays of religious symbolism (or loads of law enforcement support stickers) on cars. This may be an attempt to relay a “look how good I am” message and persuade you away from any suspicion.

Fake smiles

When read correctly, a smile can be used as a barometer of deception. The average genuine smile lasts about five seconds. Anything longer than that may be artificially displayed in an effort to reflect calm and relaxation and disguise anxiety and concern. Also watch for the timing of smiles. If a sullen, straight-faced suspect suddenly smiles before answering a hot question, take note of that and be suspicious.

Diversion

Diversion techniques can be easy to spot and are crucial to note. This can take a wide variety of forms, from asking directions in the middle of your contact or soliciting advice on places to stay in the area to showing great interest in your work and heavily complimenting you, your uniform, your squad, whatever. These techniques can be obvious and the goal is always the same: to divert you from your mission of sniffing out contraband.

Using “qualifiers”

These are expressions that hedge the answer being given; statements like “to tell you the truth,” “to the best of my knowledge,” “believe me,” “to be perfectly honest,” etc. or a statement like “that’s about it,” tossed in at the end of an answer. Stay alert for these phrases and be sure to dig deeper when you hear them.

Repetition

This involves the suspect repeating his deceptive answer…like “No, no, no, no” or the long, drawn out “Noooooo…..” when asked a hot question. It can also involve the suspect repeating a certain aspect of his story in a subconscious attempt to get you to believe it.

Verbal slip-ups

Take note if a suspect who has had no trouble speaking clearly suddenly starts making lots of mistakes, stopping and starting sentences abruptly, or experiencing repeated slips of the tongue. This can be indicative of being distracted—possibly by the anxiety caused by your line of questioning—and worth note.

Convenient incomprehension

Watch for situations where someone who has had no trouble understanding you suddenly can’t comprehend what you’re saying, either by a claim that they can’t grasp what you mean by your obvious question or because they claim they suddenly don’t understand English as clearly as they could moments ago.

Being rushed

Someone transporting contraband is going to want the contract between the two of you to end as soon as possible. Don’t be lured into pushy demands of, “Come on! Just write me the ticket and let me get out of here. I need to get going.” He might be in a hurry…but for the wrong reasons.

Inappropriate forgetfulness

You should take note of memory lapses if they involve something that someone obviously wouldn’t forget…like whether the guy in their car is a relative or not, or their address or what they do for a living. If you ask a very simple question and a suspect has trouble “remembering,” you may be on to something.

Happy hunting!

Charles Remsberg has joined the Police1 team as a Senior Contributor. He co-founded the original Street Survival Seminar and the Street Survival Newsline, authored three of the best-selling law enforcement training textbooks, and helped produce numerous award-winning training videos.