Pubdate: 5 August 1999 Source: Examiner, The (Ireland) Copyright: Examiner Publications Ltd, 1999 Contact: http://www.examiner.ie/ VIDEOTAPING OF INTERVIEWS A WELCOME MOVE Empowering the gardai to videotape interviews of suspects in serious cases is a positive initiative in the battle against crime. Anything that strengthens the arm of the law in helping to bring criminals to justice is to be welcomed. Those who accuse the media of painting an exaggerated picture of the level of crime in Ireland, need only measure the success of the garda blitz against the drug barons in the wake of Veronica Guerin's murder to get a sense of the true scale of the problem. Based on the evaluations of video tests conducted in four of the country's busiest garda stations, the #310 million system will be installed in 200 stations nationwide. In future, video taping of interviews will be mandatory in cases involving offences carrying sentences of five years or more. It will apply to suspects detained under the Offences against the State act as well drug trafficking and other serious criminal activities. Effectively, this will bring Ireland into line with international practice. As a fail safe, it will protect the interests of suspects and also the gardai who are often accused of distorting evidence. From here on, the veracity of the garda account will be protected under a transparent system whereby one copy of a video film will be sealed in the presence of the suspect and not opened until a court case begins, while copies will also be made available to the DPP and the solicitor representing a suspect. Spearheading a relentless assault on the drug barons and the ruthless leaders of criminal gangs, the gardai and organisations such as the Criminal Assets Bureau are sending out a loud and clear message that crime no longer pays. Much work remains to be done, however, as the streets of our cities and towns, and the corridors of prisons like Mountjoy, are awash with drugs. Welcomed by garda bodies and civil liberty groups alike, the initiative will be a valuable weapon in the on going fight against crime and should significantly reduce court challenges to statements given to gardai by suspects in custody. - --- MAP posted-by: manemez j lovitto