Aspecial panel of the Legislative Council, an advisory body to the justice minister, has included the need to electronically record the entire interrogation process for suspects in its outline of recommendations for reform of criminal investigation and court proceedings.
Although the move will pave the way for the first legislative step requiring police and prosecution investigators to make the interrogation of suspects in criminal cases transparent through such recordings, the scope of crimes in which the recordings will be mandatory is too limited.
The Justice Ministry should drastically enlarge the scope of the recording requirement. Among the matters taken up for the panel's discussions over the past three years, electronic recording of the interrogation process was the biggest issue.