http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-interrogation-on-film,0,1131791.story
I think that this is a great idea for the exact reasons that the ABA states: it will reduce the allegations by suspects that the detectives coerced them into a confession and it will help detect false confessions when they occur. I don't agree with the DEA that the videotapes will teach the criminals the detectives' techniques because from what I understand, these tapes won't be open to the public, and certainly not to criminals.
The part that I like best is that it will prevent suspects and their attorneys to portray the police as abusive. I have full confidence that the "roughing up" that you sometimes see in TV shows rarely if ever occurs.
To touch on the innocence project, this could be another method to prove someone's innocence - by reviewing the interrogation tapes to see if they were in any way coerced to confess or if they seem mentally ill.
I think that this is a great idea for the exact reasons that the ABA states: it will reduce the allegations by suspects that the detectives coerced them into a confession and it will help detect false confessions when they occur. I don't agree with the DEA that the videotapes will teach the criminals the detectives' techniques because from what I understand, these tapes won't be open to the public, and certainly not to criminals.
The part that I like best is that it will prevent suspects and their attorneys to portray the police as abusive. I have full confidence that the "roughing up" that you sometimes see in TV shows rarely if ever occurs.
To touch on the innocence project, this could be another method to prove someone's innocence - by reviewing the interrogation tapes to see if they were in any way coerced to confess or if they seem mentally ill.
Reading this story the objections raised by the detectives seem... weak. It implies that a criminal would seek out interrogation tapes to practice with, and further still manage to use that practice when confronted with the real thing. It's rather like watching a kung-fu movie and thinking you can take on a black belt. You may know the motions but not how the work together. And any crook smart enough to pull it off would likely be the sort to pay attention to his Miranda rights anyway and exercise that right to remain silent.