Voluntariness: The Need to Record the Interaction between the Police and the Accused
If the circumstances under which a confession is made raise a reasonable doubt about its voluntariness, it will not be admissible in evidence. The Crown bears the burden of satisfying the court beyond a reasonable doubt that the confession was voluntary. R. v. Oickle , 2000 SCC 38 (CanLII). There is no absolute duty on police to record by means of audio or video devices, conversations with an accused in custody. R. v. Oickle , para. 47 and R. v. Moore-McFarla ne , 2001 CanLII 6363 (ON CA). However, creating such a recording is highly desirable and certainly avoids concerns and suspicions surrounding the taking of a statement where such contact is recorded electronically. Onus on Crown to Establish a Sufficient Record of the Police-Accused Interaction In R. v. Moore-McFarlane the Court of Appeal for Ontario held that as long as recording equipment is available, the failure to record will...