The first argument from law enforcement was that there would not be enough lawyers—that it would be too hard to find a lawyer during off hours. If this is an acceptable argument, we should be honest and revise the Miranda warning to tell arrestees that they have a right to a lawyer but that one will only be provided to them from 9-5 on Monday through Friday. The second argument is that it is too expensive to provide lawyers 24/7. Having a public defender on call 24/7 is certainly a cost to the public, but so is the cost of paying police, sheriffs, county jail staff, and county detention staff 24/7. So if we agree to pay the cost of all these law enforcement staff 24/7, then why can’t we have also pay for a lawyer to be on call 24/7? Surely the meager cost of an on-call lawyer is far less than the extraordinary incarceration and exoneration costs to taxpayers. After all, if a person is coerced into a confession, then as a society we pay substantial costs in prosecution, decades of incarceration and eventually in false confession settlements. Surely the meager cost of an on-call lawyer is far less than the extraordinary incarceration and exoneration costs to taxpayers. Another argument is that police will never solve cases if lawyers are present because suspects will not talk. But in England, where the law has required lawyers for decades, research clarifies this is not the case—arrestees are just as likely to give statements with lawyers present. An arrestee with an alibi is just as likely to give the alibi with a lawyer present. The difference is that the statement is more likely to be reliable. Further, as the report by the Police Accountability Task Force documents, the practice of excluding lawyers and coercing confessions has a chilling impact on community relations. Police therefore find it harder to get community cooperation in solving crimes. Community cooperation, based on community trust that police will treat everyone fairly, is much more critical in solving crimes than individual statements, especially those made without legal protection. Finally, confessions alone are not the only way to prove a connection to an offense. Police have a wide variety of tools. Lawyers are essential. Police agree—and police contracts contain numerous protections including access to a lawyer and limits on custodial interrogation to protect the rights of police during questioning and withstand complaints about their conduct. The sad litany of exonerations based on false confessions illustrates that all arrestees need the protection of a lawyer. It is time for Illinois to follow the recommendations of the Police Accountability Task Force and ensure that all persons have a lawyer during interrogation, especially children."

The entire story can be found at:
https://thecrimereport.org/2017/11/30/the-simple-way-to-prevent-false-confessions/