After at least a decade of attempts, the legislature passed a bill that requires police to electronically record the confessions of those charged with serious felonies.
The measure, approved in the waning moments of the 2011 legislative session, won't take effect until Jan. 1, 2014 to give police department plenty of time to comply with the new mandate.
Police would have to make video recordings of the confessions of people arrested for Class A and B felonies, as well as capital felonies - the most serious categories of crime.
Proponents say the policy will lead to greater accountability and to more reliable confessions that will stand up better in court.
The bill cleared the Senate last week, but had to come back to the chamber tonight. That's because the House scrapped an amendment that the Senate had approved in its earlier vote. That amendment would have prevented cities and towns from dismissing deputy police chiefs without just cause and a public hearing.
Some lawmakers expressed concern that such a provision would have made it impossible for communities facing a budget crisis to eliminate the position of deputy chief.
Under the provisions of the bill, custodial interrogation by police are presumed inadmissible unless electronically recorded.