# Do UK cops "read 'em their rights"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-uk-cops-read-em-their-rights/986382>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 30, 2023, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-uk-cops-read-em-their-rights/986382 "2023-06-30T23:11:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-uk-cops-read-em-their-rights/986382/21 "2023-07-02T01:43:06Z")

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One particularly egregious example of Miranda error is in Frasier, when ex-cop Martin says:

> One time when I was on the force, **I saw a guy shoot somebody**. When we caught him, I started to read him his rights, but he slipped out of his cuffs and he swung at me, so I didn’t get a chance to finish. Two months later, I’m on the stand and his lawyer asks me if I read him his rights in full. Now, if I say no, this guy walks, and this guy has been in and out of jail all his life. He could have read ME his rights. So I say “Yes, I did. I read 'em in full.” I lied under oath. Now, you might think that I did an unethical thing, but there’s not a doubt in my mind that I did the right thing.

So what if any defendant statement is excluded? You have eyewitness testimony - and that will be sufficient

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**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-uk-cops-read-em-their-rights/986382/22 "2023-07-02T15:18:05Z")

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Not only that, Martin was arresting him not questioning him. His rights would have been read before someone started questioning him. But at that point no one would care if he made a statement or not since he shot someone in front of a cop.

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**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-uk-cops-read-em-their-rights/986382/23 "2023-07-02T15:22:20Z")

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> [@AskNott](#):
>
> On US TV cop shows, when an arrest is made, you know the cop will say “You have the right to remain silent,” and so on, the Miranda rights. I don’t remember UK cops doing it, until now. On _Ridley,_ a PBS cop show set in the UK, I saw a cop make an arrest, and she said, “You have the right, etc.” They didn’t show the whole recitation.
> 
> Do coppers in the UK do this, or was this a US writer making a mistake?

In over 25 years as a cop I never once Mirandized anyone when I arrested them. As a patrol cop I rarely had to Mirandize anyone because it wasn’t my job to interview them. Any spontaneous utterances that were said were noted. I knew if I asked specifically about the case it would be thrown out anyway. As a detective I often Mirandized people and either had them sign a form or waive their rights on camera (or both) before questioning. It’s never required at arrest.

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