State Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, said a recent order by the Indiana Supreme Court dealing with electronic recordings of interrogations will strengthen the state’s criminal justice system.

Tallian issued a statement responding to the court’s decision to require law enforcement to electronically record statements from suspects during interrogations in order for those statements to be allowed as evidence in the prosecution of felony criminal cases.

Tallian authored legislation this year that would have made such a requirement law, but the bill did not receive a hearing in a Senate committee. The Supreme Court’s order makes the recording requirement part of the state’s rules of evidence.

Other states have implemented similar requirements through legislation, case law, or as a rule by the state’s Supreme Court. Illinois was the first state to legislate this requirement, under then-State Senator Barack Obama, for charges of manslaughter, murder and homicide. Such legislation has been endorsed by the American Bar Association.

Tallian said that providing a video recording of a suspect’s statement helps jurors and judges assess that a statement has been made voluntarily and minimizes the risk of wrongful convictions. It also lends additional credibility of the circumstances under which the statement was obtained and protects the interrogating officers from false accusations of coercion, she said.

“Public safety is improved by policies that ensure the time, effort and taxpayer money spent on cases will bring the right people to trial as soon as possible,” Tallian said. “This helps us get dangerous criminals off the street and protect innocent people from false charges.”

Indiana’s new rule begins on Jan. 1, 2011, and requires that the recording include the visible images and voice of the suspect as well as the voices of interrogating officers. Exceptions to the rule include incidents when a statement is made spontaneously or when a suspect refuses to be recorded. Tallian said a fiscal analysis completed for her proposed legislation found that the change would result in minimal costs, because most county and municipal offices, as well as the Indiana State Police, are already recording interrogations.

More information on the details of the new rule and the complete rules of evidence can be found on the Supreme Court’s website at courts.in.gov/rules