Conventional internet wisdom is clear about when to talk to the police: never. While there’s a lot to be said for this philosophy, the internet often gets it completely wrong, and “never talk to a cop” has always struck me as too simplistic. Sure, the Fifth Amendment says you can’t be forced to incriminate yourself, and it’s satisfying to tell cops to go fuck themselves instead of saying, “Yes, officer,” but how well does it work in practice?

I spoke to Chicago attorney Harold Wallin to get some answers. Wallin has over 25 years of experience focusing on DUI defense, so he’s seen just about every conceivable interaction between officers and citizens. It turns out there are many cases where, surprisingly, talking to the police is a better idea than pulling a prank.

"You should never talk to the police if they suspect you of a crime," Wallin said. "If I get a call from a potential client saying, 'A police officer wants me to come to the station to clear something up,' that means they're looking for a confession."

Police have a lot of latitude when it comes to questioning people, and they’re generally pretty good at tripping people up, often using less-than-honest methods. “They say, ‘Look, I’ve got a nice thick file here. I know everything that happened. Your buddy told me everything, so I got a confession out of him. It would be easier if you just gave me a full statement of everything, and didn’t tell me any lies, because I know what happened,’ but they’re fucking making it up,” Wallin said. “They don’t know what happened. It’s just a guess. That’s a common technique of police and it’s perfectly legal,” he added.