The attack on a prison van, which left two officers dead and three injured, rekindles the debate on the need to develop judicial hearings by videoconference to avoid dangerous extractions.
:quality(50)/2023/07/07/64a7df4c5fe71_placeholder-36b69ec8.png)
Published
Reading time: 1 min
:quality(50)/2024/03/13/jusctice-65f1e06c998b7877798138.jpg)
“In terms of effectiveness, in particular of an act of investigation, but also of judgment, nothing beats the appearance of the person before the magistrate”assures Thursday May 16 on franceinfo Ludovic Friat, president of the Union of Magistrates.
The main prison union organizations are due to meet on Thursday to discuss proposals made by the Ministry of Justice after the attack on a prison van, which left two officers dead and three injured. Among the proposals, there is the idea of limiting extractions or even increasing videoconferencing.
Ludovic Friat, who ensures that the Union of Magistrates “was not associated with the current negotiations”believes that appearance remains the best option, particularly “in terms of body language, reactions, fluid and spontaneous exchanges”. According to him, “video is not the most suitable mode”, “it’s not a magic tool” and must remain “an exception”.
However, the trade unionist understands that in certain cases “for the most dangerous profiles”he failed “imagine other ways of doing things”. “How should we profile individuals who are in custody?”, he questions. Another question: “How to do this profiling?”
Among the answers he puts forward, the fact that “the police and the prison communicate”or even the fact that “the intelligence part does its job”. The president of the Union of Magistrates explains this point in detail: “We have, in prison matters, a service called the national prison intelligence service. Its missions are to prevent riots in prison and escapes. This service must do its job completely and must have the means to do so to anticipate this type of terrible action.”
