The entire public safety industry has specific policy and procedures in place to best ensure that our communities are protected. And for law enforcement, the policies surrounding interview room designs and interview evidence practices can be some of the most stringent.
Whether the interview room is used for criminal suspects, juvenile offenders, or witnesses and victims, agencies need to confirm that their current practices are living up to the standards of today. This quick overview can help guide those policy reviews.
5 Key Directives for Your Agency’s Interview Room Policy
Law enforcement agencies have intensive time and budgetary restrictions. But adhering to the modern interview room policies doesn’t need to be another hurdle. When done right, these practices will empower your agency with the appropriate tools to make everyone’s jobs easier.
1. Constant Monitoring
The first—and arguably most important—factor when setting up your interview room is to have the ability to see the interview subject at all times. Your audio video equipment needs to be arranged in such a way that the person’s full body is in view. Not only does this help provide the court with the most accurate and detailed evidence possible, constant monitoring gives agencies the information they need to track the subject’s wellbeing.
2. Equipment Ease-of-Use
Another key component of your policy relates to the actual time it takes to conduct the interview. Keeping this timeline to a minimum is not only beneficial for your staff, but for the interview subject, as well. This often boils down to your audio video equipment ease-of-use. There’s no reason to fumble with reorganizing your camera setup for each recording. It should already be in place and perfectly angled at the interview subject.
Working with a simple start/stop feature for your recording equipment can also greatly reduce the amount of time and hassle of preparing for your interview. You should be able to start recording with just the touch of a button.
Additionally, it’s of the utmost importance to reduce the risk of any problems that might arise with the recording equipment itself. If your current system isn’t reliable or produces poor-quality interview evidence recordings, it’s time to invest in an upgrade.
3. Interview Room Layout
Your interview room layout also needs to follow specific guidelines. Interview subjects shouldn’t have access to unnecessary items in the room. Not only is this a safety precaution for detectives and officers, it also helps maintain a professional environment. The standard set of furnishings will include a single table, two identical chairs, and perhaps a piece of generic artwork on the wall.
Furthermore, the audio video equipment needs to be arranged in such a way that your agency is consistently delivering high-quality interview evidence recordings. Your solutions provider needs to know how to place your microphones and cameras appropriately, and they should understand the nuances of the room layout, as well as your discrete and overt camera options.
4. Digital Evidence Management Solution (DEMS)
Integrating with a new DEMS helps keep your interview evidence recordings secure. Working with a DEMS Cloud Portal also gives authorized personnel access to that digital evidence at any time, and anywhere. Agencies need to be thinking of their DEMS as an extension of their interview room itself. The evidence needs to be automatically transferred into their cloud storage—not onsite servers.
5. Faster Case Resolutions
With all of these interview room directives in place, agencies can help move every case to resolution faster. Your equipment’s ease-of-use, a robust DEMS, and the power to constantly monitor your interview subject in a room that’s appropriately and intentionally designed gives you a more streamlined process from start to finish. Together, these focus areas also keep your agency compliant.
By partnering with iRecord, it’s even easier to meet today’s LE interview room policy requirements. From the audio video equipment installation itself, to your agency’s robust DEMS, the team at iRecord is here to help agencies streamline their caseload in the pursuit of justice. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to continue the conversation. We’re here to serve you in any way we can!