(Barbados Nation) Attorney-General Freundel Stuart will soon be entering discussions with the Royal Barbados Police Force to get interrogation rooms equipped for tape recordings started.
“The relevant section of the Evidence Act may have to be proclaimed to give the use of the facilities the legal backing,” he told the DAILY NATION at Barbados Defence Force (BDF) headquarters, following the BDF’s 30th anniversary celebrations church service at St Matthias Anglican Church on Sunday.
In 2003, Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin was quoted as saying there was a provision in the Evidence Act for the tape recording of admissions and the force was working steadily to have the measure introduced.
However, despite some police stations having been equipped with video recording devices, taped interrogations have remained non-existent.
Stuart, who is also Minister of Home Affairs and is currently acting Prime Minister, said it was only the newer police stations that were equipped with recording equipment.
“The older ones do not have such facilities therefore we are launching a serious assault on the [bad] conditions of police stations.”
He said if the existing facilities were pressed into service, there would be a rush; but recognised the importance of public confidence.
“We will have to work out the mechanics to ensure the system can function efficiently but if you have a [justice] system in which people have no confidence, the whole fabric of law and order is weakened,” he added.
