Videotaping Police Interviews With Suspects
AbstractThe article evaluates the significance of the recent inclusion of Chapter 60A in the Criminal Code (WA). This chapter governs the admissibility of evidence of an admission in a trial for a serious offence. The Act provides that, if there are reasonable grounds to suspect the accused had committed the offence when the interview occured, an admission obtained by the police during that interview must be videotaped. If such admissions are not recorded on video they will be inadmissible in a trial for a serious offence. The circumstances which led to the introduction of the chapter are discussed. The author examines the pre amendment case law in this area. He then discusses whether the section requires the entire interview during which the admission was made to be video-recorded, or merly the part of the interview containing the admission. |