BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1389
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Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 1389
(Glazer) - As Amended May 31, 2016
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|Policy |Public Safety |Vote:|7 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill extends the existing requirement to electronically
record a custodial interrogation of a minor suspected of
committing murder to apply to any person suspected of committing
murder, and specifies that for the purposes of the custodial
interrogation of an adult, "electronic recording" means a video
or audio recording that accurately records a custodial
interrogation.
FISCAL EFFECT:
SB 1389
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Potentially significant increase in one-time and ongoing
reimbursable mandated costs (General Fund) to local agencies to
provide video recording of all adult custodial interrogations in
murder investigations. Since the mandate for electronic
recording of minors is already established under existing law,
any additional state-reimbursable costs attributable to this
bill would be those costs incurred for recording adults above
the existing mandate. Given the significant number of local law
enforcement agencies subject to the mandate, and the significant
increase in volume of required recordings, even the minimal
mandate reimbursement claim of $1,000 would result in costs in
excess of $400,000. According to the Department of Justice
statistics, there were 1,351 adults arrested for homicide in
2015
COMMENTS:
Background and Purpose. As of January 2014, current law requires
the electronic recording of the interrogation of a juvenile
suspected of murder. In addition, there are a number of
jurisdictions in California that voluntarily, at least some of
the time, electronically record other interrogations.
Every year many people are wrongly convicted because of false
confessions. Defendants also often make motions to exclude
statements made during an interrogation arguing that they were
coerced, there was abuse or the statement was not made. Studies
have shown that recording of interrogations puts an end to
disputes regarding statements and also has additional benefits.
This bill would extend the provision requiring the electronic
recording of the interrogation of juvenile murder suspects to
apply to any person suspected of murder.
SB 1389
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There are a number of benefits in recording interrogations; it
allows the interviewer to question the suspect without any
distractions (notebooks, statement forms, or typewriters),
observe the suspect's demeanor and body language, and use the
recordings as training for other personnel. Recording
interrogations also reduces allegations of coerced or false
confessions.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081