Judges granted discretion to allow police to testify virtually from police station

The Supreme Court has changed regulations to grant judges the discretion to allow police officers to testify in court hearings from police stations via audio and videoconferencing.

The regulations previously only allowed expert witnesses to testify virtually.

But an amendment that took effect on Wednesday now grants presiding judges the discretion to allow police officers produced as witnesses by the state to testify virtually from police stations.

The amendment states that police officers may be allowed to testify via either audioconferencing or videoconferencing.

However, this concession may only be granted where the duties of a police officer prevents them from attending court, if a police officer is undergoing training that they are unable to disrupt, or if a police officer is in a place other than where the court is located in.