Audiovisual recordings during interrogations

Audiovisual recording of police interrogations can help prevent undue compulsion, torture and other ill-treatment during questioning, as well as provide protection to police officials against false allegations. Audiovisual recording can also help secure reliable evidence for criminal proceedings, offering a key protection against false confessions and wrongful convictions. Moreover, audiovisual recording can strengthen the procedural rights granted by Directive 2013/48/EU on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and in European arrest warrant proceedings, and on the right to have a third party informed upon deprivation of liberty and to communicate with third persons and with consular authorities while deprived of liberty (Access to Lawyer Directive).

This report provides an overview of the legislation and practices pertaining to audiovisual recording across the EU and beyond. It provides international context to comparative research into the use of audiovisual recordings in Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Hungary and Italy.