Video footage must accompany statements of suspects - Judge

A judge on Friday suggested that video footage should be taken when suspects’ statements are being taken at the police stations in order to aid the work of the courts.

Mr Francis Obiri, a Circuit Court Judge, said those videos should be attached to statements of suspects and tendered in evidence.

This, the judge said, would spare the court moments of conducting mini trials whenever suspects denied some contents of their statement or sometimes the entire statements in court.

Mr Obiri noted that the court had been puzzled with many suspects denying their statements thereby compelling the court to conduct mini trials which often compelled the courts to take evidence of independent witnesses.

According to him those videos would also assist the court to know whether or not statements of suspects or accused persons were taken under duress or not.

Also the judge noted that it would assist the court to ascertain whether or not suspects were telling the truth.

“If the video is attached to the statement, the court would determine whether or not the accused person is telling the truth or not.”

He said in other jurisdictions, video footage were added to statement and it aided the court in arriving at a good judgment.

The judge has, therefore, called for review of the country's laws to accommodate the video coverage when statements are being obtained from suspects in police stations.

The Judge said this when two suspects; Emmanuel Doruor aka Gideon, 19 and Thomas Twum Ansong, 23, were being tried on the charges of conspiracy to rob and four counts of robbery.

The two were said to have robbed four persons on the Achimota Lapaz road of their monies and mobile phones on November 23, last year.

The police say the accused persons robbed James Oppong of a Nokia phone valued at GH¢70 cedis and cash of GH¢ 80 cedis as well as Essana Richard of his Techno Mobile phone valued at GH¢80 cedis and cash of GH¢150 cedis.

The accused persons also robbed one Princess Opoku of her Glaxy III phone and her GH¢700 cedis as well as Ebenezer Attah of his phone valued at GH¢90 and his GH¢150.

Emmanuel, however, denied the content of his statements saying the statement was obtained after he had been beaten by the police.

The court, after taking the evidence of the case investigator, adjourned the matter to August 21 to enable it to conduct a mini trial over Emmanuel’s statements.