The U.S. Department of Justice recently notified their federal law enforcement officials that effective July 11, they will be required to video record interrogations of suspects in custody, with few exceptions. After more than a century of prohibiting the recording of interrogations and statements made by criminal suspects without special approval, the policy will apply to the F.B.I., the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Marshals Service. The policy will additionally encourage officials to consider electronic recordings in investigations, such as during witness interviews.
Numerous attorneys, advocates, and researchers argue that the reform will bring federal agencies in congruence with modern policing standards, give more credibility to the criminal justice system and process as a whole, and will prevent lost evidence, unprofessional conduct, and wrongful convictions.
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