Individual human rights : custodial interrogation

Abstract

CUSTODIAL INTERROGATIONS have been the topic of many debates in recent years. Many argue that we in Malta should adopt procedural requirements in respect to criminal investigation similar to the western world, i.e., a heavily regulated structure that follow the Miranda warnings and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984 (PACE). Some of these procedural requirements include amongst others, the obligation to provide legal advice during questioning and the requirement that suspect affirmatively agree to talk to police. Studies conducted abroad before and after the implementation of the abovementioned regulations indicate that the rate of CONFESSIONS dropped substantially. For example the British Police obtained confessions in 61 per cent to 85 per cent of all cases before the enactment of the PACE. Studies conducted after the introduction of the PACE, suggested that the confession rates dropped to 45 per cent. Partly because of the extreme drop in confession, the British Parliament in November of 1994 changed the warning given to suspects' prior to questioning. Hence, while other countries are attempting to slowly reverse the mentioned requirements, because they have caused many serious criminal offenders to be set free, and in some instances criminal proceedings could not even be instituted. Malta is aiming to introduce some of those individual rights at the expense of society's safety, because ultimately we would suffer the same consequences our British counterparts have suffered -- a drop of about 15 per cent in confessions.