Attorney General Eric Holder. Photo from DOJ

The Department of Justice announced a new policy to record the interviews of suspects in federal custody.

The policy will affect people who are arrested for crimes committed in Indian Country. The FBI currently does not record such interviews.

“Creating an electronic record will ensure that we have an objective account of key investigations and interactions with people who are held in federal custody,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a press release. “It will allow us to document that detained individuals are afforded their constitutionally-protected rights. And it will also provide federal law enforcement officials with a backstop, so that they have clear and indisputable records of important statements and confessions made by individuals who have been detained.”

Get the Story:
In a reversal, FBI will begin recording interviews (AP 5/22)
Federal law enforcement agencies directed to record statements by suspects in custody (The Washington Post 5/23)
In Policy Change, Justice Dept. to Require Recording of Interrogations (The New York Times 5/23)