Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Would an interview with a juvenile be recorded if the juvenile was not himself a suspect, but rather was being interviewed regarding serious abuse he had suffered from his father? And if so, would an officer have to tell him it was being recorded? Thanks for your help!

It could be, though typically a victim or witness being recorded will be told so. Why?

We videotape interviews of young child victims all the time. The law here allows us to show the tape in court and that often gets a guilty plea from the abuser. A teenager, no.

Yup, we videotape the interview depending on circumstances. All interviews though would at least be tape recorded (digital audio recorded), and then transcribed by a transcriptionist.

Thanks everybody. Kimble, I am writing dialogue to lead into said interview, and wanted to know what options I had. It seemed to me that recording the interview would be a very good idea, but if the juvenile (15 years old) knew he was being recorded, he might be more reluctant to talk. Maybe I can just leave that piece of information out; none of my readers will likely miss it.

Thanks everybody. Kimble, I am writing dialogue to lead into said interview, and wanted to know what options I had. It seemed to me that recording the interview would be a very good idea, but if the juvenile (15 years old) knew he was being recorded, he might be more reluctant to talk. Maybe I can just leave that piece of information out; none of my readers will likely miss it.

Ahh... I missed the fact this was posted in the writer's sub-forum.