MPS Supports Taping Interrogations, But Has No Plans for Nationwide Implementation

June 1, 2006

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced on May 16 that it will promote audio and video taping of police interrogations in homicide and triad-related cases, according to a Xinhua report dated the same day. The report notes that public security bureaus in economically developed areas such as Shanghai and Beijing municipalities, as well as Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Jiangsu provinces, have already adopted such measures. Despite supporting these local experiments, the MPS announced no formal plans for nationwide implementation. Instead, He Ting, Director of the MPS Criminal Investigation Department, maintained that it is "still premature for police departments across the country to implement such measures because of the gap in economic development and lack of police in the remote western areas."

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced on May 16 that it will promote audio and video taping of police interrogations in homicide and triad-related cases, according to a Xinhua report dated the same day. The report notes that public security bureaus in economically developed areas such as Shanghai and Beijing municipalities, as well as Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Jiangsu provinces, have already adopted such measures. Despite supporting these local experiments, the MPS announced no formal plans for nationwide implementation. Instead, He Ting, Director of the MPS Criminal Investigation Department, maintained that it is "still premature for police departments across the country to implement such measures because of the gap in economic development and lack of police in the remote western areas."

According to He Ting, one motivation behind audio and video taping of police interrogations is the desire to prevent police abuses such as coercion of confessions under torture. In 2005, the wrongful convictions of Nie Shubin and She Xianglin drew national attention to widespread abuses in the criminal justice system and the continuing problem of torture. The local public security bureau in She Xianglin's case ultimately agreed to provide compensation for his wrongful imprisonment. A March 5 Xinhua article (via Sina.com) raises the She Xianglin case and notes, "Similar cases make people think inquisition by torture is involved in police interrogation." According to Xinhua, a delegate to the National People's Congress (NPC) plenary session in March stated that "there remains an outstanding problem of inquisition by torture in [the] judicial sector." The delegate submitted a proposal to the NPC to introduce the taping of police interrogations in criminal cases punishable by death. Xinhua notes that eliminating coerced confessions under torture has become a priority for the MPS in 2006.

While MPS officials at the May 16 press conference (in Chinese) highlighted the need to guard against wrongful convictions, they also emphasized the need to ensure that the proper handling of cases would lead to verdicts of guilt. The MPS continued to emphasize its "Strike Hard, Maximum Pressure" policy, as well as its high rate for solving criminal cases. In addition, Xinhua's May 16 report said that there may be other motives behind the decision to introduce audio and video taping of police interrogations, including law enforcement's desire to prevent criminal suspects from revoking confessions or bringing false charges against interrogators. The MPS has not announced a concrete mechanism to enable criminal suspects to lodge complaints during the process of interrogation, or to make offending officers more accountable.

For more information on the Nie Shubin and She Xianglin cases, and the problem of coerced confessions under torture, see Torture and Abuse in Custody, in Section III(b) of the CECC's 2005 Annual Report.