After the police take you for questioning will they arrest you?

Answer 1

In the US, everyone has the Right to avoid self incrimination, this is sometimes referred to as the Miranda rights or Miranda warning. In most states the police are required to advise you of your Miranda rights before questioning. However, there are a couple of stipulations to that; 1. You must be in custody and not free to leave, and 2. They must be questioning you in regard to a crime they suspect you of committing. If you are free to leave and you feel as such, they may be within the guidelines for NOT advising you of your Miranda rights. For instance: If the police call you on the phone and want to question you, they do not have to Mirandize you because you can simply hang-up the phone and not talk to them at any time. Also, if they come to your house and begin questioning you on your doorstep, you would be within your rights to shut the door in their face. Or if they approach you on the street and begin asking questions and you are not detained, i.e. placed in handcuffs or in the back of a patrol car, you are not in custody and they do not have to Mirandize you. A guideline to follow is if you are being questioned about a crime ask if you are free to leave if they say yes, ask yourself if you FEEL as though you are free to leave [you may be told you are free to leave, but in fact that possibility may not seem like a viable option, if you are at the police station in an interrogation room for example]. If you are free to leave and you feel as though you can leave at any time, without hindrance, you may not be subject to Miranda rights.

Now as to the question asked. Suppose you are at home and the police phone you and want to question you about a crime they suspect you are involved in. If you start answering questions over the phone, and give the police information they can use against you, then you may next expect a knock at your door with an arrest warrant or they may just use your words as probable cause and take you in. At that point, you would be considered as 'under arrest' and not free to leave. Any further questioning they wanted to conduct on you would require them to read you your Miranda rights. So the answer is: It all depends on what you are suspected of, and what you say to them in a non-custodial setting.