Police will record audio and video during interrogations starting January 1, 2020.

This is the main content of the Project on infrastructure, personnel, and implementation roadmap for audio and video recording during the interrogation of suspects, approved by the Prime Minister on September 11th.

According to the project's roadmap, the overall plan will be completed in 2019, and investment will be implemented to ensure the necessary conditions regarding infrastructure, organizational structure, and personnel allocation. Currently, most interrogation rooms at the Ministry of Public Security are dilapidated, and only a few are equipped with audio or video recording capabilities. Most investigative agencies do not have dedicated interrogation rooms, instead using their offices instead. The infrastructure of other ministries and agencies also lacks adequate facilities for audio and video recording during interrogations.

According to the joint circular guiding the procedures for recording audio and video with sound, issued by the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuracy, the officer interrogating the suspect or taking the statement of the legal representative of a commercial legal entity committing a crime decides whether to choose audio recording or video recording with sound. During this process, the interrogating officer may temporarily stop the audio or video recording but must clearly state the time and reason.

If audio or video recording equipment cannot be provided, the interrogating officer shall inform the suspect or the legal representative of the commercial entity committing the crime. If they agree, the proceedings shall proceed; otherwise, they must stop.

Lawyer Diep Nang Binh assessed the regulation on audio and video recording in criminal proceedings as "a step forward"; a "turning point in criminal proceedings that helps people have more faith in justice".

Audio and video recording will help to reduce coercion, torture, wrongful convictions, and other potential irregularities during investigation, prosecution, and trial; ensuring transparency, civil rights, and human rights in criminal proceedings, thereby leading to objective case resolution. In addition, it will limit the possibility of retracting confessions.

However, authorities need more specific regulations regarding the procedures for accessing audio and video recordings of suspects, defendants, and their legal representatives.