Video-recording of Statements from Witnesses and Suspects
Ministry of Home AffairsSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the implementation and impact of the video recording of interviews (VRI) for suspects and witnesses since its 2018 introduction. Ms Sylvia Lim inquired about the offence categories covered, the effectiveness in reducing involuntariness allegations, and future expansion plans. Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam noted that VRI will expand to more offences but remains unavailable for witness interviews. He explained that while VRI captures demeanour to assist Courts in determining statement admissibility, its impact on reducing involuntariness claims is not yet conclusive. The Minister also directed the Member to a March 2023 reply for specific offence categories where VRI is currently utilized.
Transcript
15 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) for what kinds of offences have statements been video-recorded from witnesses and suspects during investigations by law enforcement agencies since video-recording was introduced in 2018; (b) what has been the impact of video-recorded statements in achieving positive outcomes, such as reducing allegations of involuntariness of statements; and (c) whether the Ministry will expand the categories of offences for which video-recording of statements will be required.
Mr K Shanmugam: The Member may wish to refer to past replies to Parliamentary Questions on the categories of offences for which video recording of interview (VRI) is conducted. In fact, we addressed this most recently in March 2023. [Please refer to "Offences and Cases where Video Recording of Interviews are Used", Official Report, 1 March 2023, Vol 95, Issue 89, Written Answers to Questions section.] We will expand VRI to more categories of offences in future.
We currently do not conduct video recording for interviews with witnesses.
VRI has, indeed, been useful in providing an objective account of the interview, capturing non-verbal cues, such as the interviewee’s demeanour and expressions. However, it is not possible to state conclusively whether VRI has reduced allegations of statements not being made voluntarily because each case is different. In cases where such allegations are raised, VRI allows the Courts to take the interviewee’s demeanour into account in determining the admissibility or weight to be accorded to the interviewee’s statement.