# Don't Talk to the Police by James Duane

5 Hacker News commenters recommended Don't Talk to the Police by James Duane and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a clear guide to what to do when police want to talk to you. Its caveat is that it covers only police questioning, not other situations.

## Why people recommend it

- Clear advice on talking to police (1 comments): "The video is good, but it's advice about what to do when police want to talk to you." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49169021))
- Widely cited as a famous reference (1 comments): "She should have watched the famous video" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49160736))
- Same reasoning applies to HR (1 comments): "For all the same reasons - Don't Talk to HR" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49229433))

## What people warn about

- Covers only police questioning (1 comments): "The video is good, but it's advice about what to do when police want to talk to you." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49169021))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Simple Made Easy by Rich Hickey](https://hackerapproved.com/p/simple-made-easy.md): 22 recommend
- [Porting Linux to Apple Silicon by Asahi Linux](https://hackerapproved.com/p/asahi-linux-porting-linux-to-apple-silicon.md): 8 recommend
- [Hammock Driven Development by Rich Hickey](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hammock-driven-development-talk.md): 7 recommend
- [The Root of the Root of All Evil by Casey Muratori](https://hackerapproved.com/p/root-of-the-root-of-all-evil.md): 7 recommend
- [Children of the Magenta Line](https://hackerapproved.com/p/children-of-the-magenta-line.md): 6 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Don't Talk to the Police by James Duane", https://hackerapproved.com/p/don-t-talk-to-the-police/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).