Justice demands we videotape all police interrogations
READ MORE: Videotape All Police Interrogations. Justice demands it. By Saul Kassin and David Thompson. Dr. Kassin is a professor of psychology. Mr. Thompson is a partner at a firm that specializes in nonconfrontational interview techniques. Aug. 1, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/opinion/police-interrogations-confessions-record.html.Recording brings two [additional] benefits. The first is that the mere presence of a camera will dissuade police officers from over-manipulating suspects and encourage instead the kinds of ethical interviewing practices that are starting to reshape modern-day police work. The second benefit is that recording preserves an accurate memorial account of the exchange between the police and suspects.
Opponents still argue that recording will distract or inhibit suspects, that some will flat out refuse to talk. That concern is unfounded. In partnership with a northeastern police department, Kassin and colleagues analyzed 122 real cases in which the suspects were informed — or not — that their sessions would be recorded. The result: Camera-informed suspects spoke as often; they were as likely to waive their Miranda rights; they were as likely to make admissions, not just denials; and detectives rated them as equally open and cooperative. One year later, the two sets of cases were similarly adjudicated. Not a single camera-informed suspect balked. There was simply no evidence to support the claim that recording inhibits suspects in any way.
We’ve heard it said that recording interrogations always benefits defendants. That is just not true. Justice benefits. Police officers frivolously accused of coercion benefit. Suspects prodded into false confessions benefit. Prosecutors, judges, and juries — the essential gatekeepers of confession evidence — benefit. The victims of serial offenders who roam the streets because an innocent person confessed to their prior crime benefit.
At a time when just about everyone is armed with a portable video camera, and false confessions are a known stark reality, there are no excuses. Yet many states fail to implement this remedy. And in some states that do, you could drive a truck through the loopholes that excuse the failure to do so (the suspect refused; the equipment was not available; “inadvertence”).
It is time to lift the veil of secrecy from the interrogation room so that everyone can see how true and false confessions are produced.Saul Kassin is a professor of psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. David Thompson is a partner at Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, a training and consulting firm specializing in nonconfrontational interview techniques.
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READ MORE: Videotape All Police Interrogations. Justice demands it. By Saul Kassin and David Thompson. Dr. Kassin is a professor of psychology. Mr. Thompson is a partner at a firm that specializes in nonconfrontational interview techniques. Aug. 1, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/opinion/police-interrogations-confessions-record.html.
