Seeking Solutions

Experts propose solutions to the problem of false testimony by police:

“The point I want to make is about the police culture. They are told all the way up to the trial that it is OK to lie . . . and the police believe that this adversary system turns justice into a game, that there are a lot of technicalities that stand in the way of solving crimes . . . that it is sometimes OK to lie to solve the crime . . . [and] that good police work often involves legally sanctioned deception. . . . So the baggage that police bring with them when they get to the witness stand is much different than a medical examiner or a professional witness . . . and I think the only way to deal with that is to change police culture.”

--Richard A. Leo, professor of sociology and law, University of Colorado

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“The problem stems from the fact that too many judges are unwilling to disbelieve police testimony, no matter what the circumstances. That gives the police no incentive to be fair. And it makes defendants lose all faith in the system--when they see police lie, and then have judges believe them.”

--Defense attorney Richard Millard

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“The police [often] get blamed for training they don’t get. Really, the police and prosecutors should always be working as a team. And I think it is frequently the case that they don’t see it that way. If police got . . . [adequate] coaching [from prosecutors] on providing legitimate testimony . . . I think we would have a lot less problems with people being concerned about police dishonesty.”

--Criminologist David Cavanagh, Cambridge, Mass.

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“I am not an expert on L.A. . . . [but] in the cities that I have looked at closely, the prosecutors in the main tend to accept what the police say. . . . You will find that there is this symbiotic relationship [with police] to get the case processed. And the goal of justice often gets lost. . . . Prosecutors have this tendency to often accept what cops bring to them. . . . Because the sanctions in a murder case are so serious, it seems to me that prosecutors have a really special responsibility to pay attention and make sure that the evidence being presented is accurate and complete.”

--Journalist David Burnham, author of three books on law enforcement