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.