Custodial Interrogation Recording Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to direct the Attorney General to make grants to states and local governments for the complete and accurate recording, by both audio and video means, of every custodial interrogation occurring within the state or unit of local government.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3750 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3750
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to
authorize the Attorney General to provide grants to States and units of
local government for the video recording of custodial interrogations.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 20, 2011
Ms. Richardson (for herself and Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to
authorize the Attorney General to provide grants to States and units of
local government for the video recording of custodial interrogations.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Custodial Interrogation Recording
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) According to the National Conference of Commissioners
on Uniform State Laws, research has demonstrated that video
recording of custodial interrogations furthers three important
civic values: truth-finding, efficient and fair administration
of justice, and protection of constitutional guarantees. See
Richard A. Leo, Police Interrogation and American Justice 296-
305 (2008); Thomas P. Sullivan, Recording Federal Custodial
Interviews, 45 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 1297 (2008).
(2) Video recording of the entire process of custodial
interrogation has proven to be a major advance in law
enforcement, improving the ability to solve crimes and prove
cases while lowering the overall costs of investigation and
litigation.
(3) Video recording of custodial interrogations promotes
truth-finding in several ways, including by reducing the
incentive to fabricate, compensating for faulty or unreliable
recollections of witnesses, deterring problematic interrogation
methods, filtering out weak cases, and enhancing the ability of
finders of fact to assess witness credibility and veracity.
(4) Video recording of custodial interrogations promotes
efficiency in the administration of the criminal justice system
by reducing the number of frivolous suppression motions,
improving the quality of police investigations, improving the
quality of review and case screening by prosecutors, and
reducing the likelihood of hung juries.
(5) Video recording of custodial interrogations safeguards
constitutional rights and values by making it easier for courts
to adjudicate motions to suppress, by making it easier for
prosecutors to preserve and disclose material exculpatory
evidence required under the Supreme Court decision in Brady v.
Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), by making it easier for superiors
to train police officers in how to comply with constitutional
mandates and for the press, and by making it easier for the
press, the judiciary, prosecutors, independent watchdog groups,
and police administrators to identify and correct misuses of
power by law enforcement.
(6) Video recordings of custodial interrogations make it
easier to identify and avoid biases, which would otherwise be
difficult to detect and correct because such biases are often
unconscious, thus operating outside police awareness.
(7) Video recordings of custodial interrogations help to
improve public confidence in the fairness and professionalism
of policing, which in a democracy not only is a good in itself
but also a proven means of reducing crime and enhancing citizen
cooperation in solving crimes.
(8) Video recording of the entire process of custodial
interrogation is likely to be a major boon to law enforcement,
improving its ability to prove its cases while lowering overall
costs of investigation and litigation. Such recording will
also, however, improve systemic accuracy, fairness to the
accused and the state alike, protection of constitutional
rights, and public confidence in the justice system.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT.
Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
(42 U.S.C. 3711) is amended--
(1) in section 1001(a), by adding at the end the following:
``(27) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
part LL such sums as may be necessary for each of the first 5
fiscal years beginning after the date of the enactment of such
part.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``PART LL--CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION VIDEO RECORDING GRANTS
``SEC. 3021. CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION VIDEO RECORDING GRANTS.
``(a) Grant Program.--The Attorney General shall make grants to
States and units of local government to take whatever steps the
Attorney General determines to be necessary to achieve the complete and
accurate recording, by both audio and video means, of every custodial
interrogation occuring within the State or unit of local government.
``(b) Matching Requirement.--The portion of the costs of a program
funded by a grant under this section may not exceed 75 percent.
``(c) Definition of Custodial Interrogation.--In this section, the
term `custodial interrogation' means questioning or other conduct by a
law enforcement officer which is reasonably likely to elicit an
incriminating response from an individual and occurs when reasonable
individuals in the same circumstances would consider themselves in
custody.''.
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Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
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