§ 41. Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will report on the experience of the Crown in respect of the experiment to tape record police interviews.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandThe experience of the Crown in respect of the experiment to tape record police interviews is, as yet, too limited to enable firm conclusions to be drawn. While a considerable number of tapes have been received from the police by the procurators fiscal at Dundee and Falkirk, only four cases have proceeded to a trial at which the tape recording of the interview and the transcript were used. Experience to date, however—from the Crown point of view—indicates that the tape and transcript provide the courts with more detailed information than was available hitherto and this is of assistance in determining questions of admissibility of evidence. But, as there has been an objection in only one case to the admissibility of evidence contained in a tape, I would sound a word of caution against drawing broad conclusions from a single decision.