So, when cops say, "Let's just talk off the record." Is that for real? The police are not the press people. They're not governed by ethical rules, and even the press is not really bound by that rule. If the police say it's off the record, it's never off the record. It's always on the record with a police officer. Whether or not he wants to admit it, what he's really doing is he's trying to make you think that it's off the record so that you'll confess to something that he can't otherwise prove. And if you will do that, then he can use that statement against you even if he called it off the record. So, don't fall for that. The police are allowed to lie to you. You're not allowed to lie to the police, so why would you ever talk to them?