Do undercover police have to reveal their identity when asked?
Submitted by Steve Silverman on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 15:23
No. It's commonly believed that undercover police have to reveal their identity when asked. This is false. Police are allowed to lie in order to make arrests.
Undercover officers in particular are very skilled at manipulating suspects and concocting clever stories to conceal that they are police. Note that police can also use drugs and do other things you wouldn't expect a cop to do.
There's no trick for finding out if someone is an undercover officer. If you're concerned about this, just be careful around people you don't know and reconsider any activities that are making you nervous. The one thing all undercover cops have in common is that they want people to commit crimes. Avoid anyone who pressures you to do something illegal.
