When you interview, determining what really happened can be a challenge if you aren’t recording. Was the interviewee coerced or did it happen as the interviewer said? Did the investigators lie? When recording is done, questions of interviewing can be removed from the equation.
Say you go to court and the opposing counsel is attempting to discredit the investigation? What do you have to back up your claims and findings? How can you prevent loopholes or missing information? Note taking has been effective in the past and is still crucial to highlighting key pieces for quick reference, but it’s no longer the only option, let alone the best one. Recording an interview, in its entirety, prevents major challenges in the presentation.
Think about it this way: You’re attempting to prove that the accused committed alleged criminal acts. In the investigation, you procured a confession. In comes the defense attorney and tries to discredit this confession saying the investigators coerced, lied, bullied and manipulated the accused into confessing. Why not? It’s what they do on Law and Order. TV isn’t reality, but if there’s a jury, they may or my not separate reality from fiction. How do you support the confession? Show the video! Don’t just record the confession, instead record the whole interview. You can then show the interviewers garnered the confession ethically.
Ethics = Integrity
It can be said that character determines who you are, and two important parts of character include integrity and reputation. Integrity is what you do when no one is looking, and reputation is what people believe about you (whether true or not). Your ethics are determined by your character, impacts your integrity, which then translates to your reputation. An ethical individual has solid integrity, which should translate to a positive reputation.
Do you want your investigations and investigators to have integrity? Make sure things are done ethically. Within legal bounds, be transparent about the investigation. Video recording will help you create transparency within the investigation.
Did you know iRecord offers a great solution for recording interviews? Contact us to find out more!