Although the laws vary from state to state around the country regarding whether recorded interrogations are required for submission in a court setting, the value and advantage of providing them have become apparent to all parties involved when it comes to reaching fair and timely verdicts in trial.
Learn highlights of these advantages pulled from the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vo 5, Issue 3 Spring 2005.
Win 1: “The most compelling arguments for recording custodial interrogations come from detectives and prosecutors who have experience working under a recording policy and enthusiastically embrace the practice.”
Win 2: “In courtrooms, the electronic recording helps protect officers from false claims of abuse or coercion.”
Win 3: “Equally important to its role as a law enforcement tool, an objective record of the interrogation serves the system as a whole by allowing triers-of-fact to accurately assess the credibility and voluntariness of confessions, thus helping to prevent wrongful convictions.”
Win 4: “Additionally, electronic recording of interrogations makes it more likely that time and resources can be spent on finding the actual perpetrator, rather than prematurely closing an investigation based on an unreliable statement.”
Win 5: “Increasingly, comparisons between the relatively low costs of implementing these reforms and the substantial benefits are leading more jurisdictions to modernize interrogation procedures.”
Consider that while these wins seem extremely relevant to today, the advantages above were being discussed and argued in a 2005 journal! Consider the vast amount of information and evidence which has been developed since—over the last almost decade.
What hold-ups are keeping your department from widespread adoption of digital audio and video recording systems? Are you ready to adopt but need more proof of concept? Are you looking for a simple, accurate and high-quality system that is compatible with the software you already use in your office?
Look no further. iRecord answers all of your concerns and can help you make the case to your department that you not only need to be recording your interviews and more, but that the reality is here and the time is now to do so.
Contact us for a product demo or to schedule a consultation and learn more.