Should police be allowed to record a minor without parents’ consent?

by David Safier

The Weekly's Dan Gibson wrote about the passage of SB1244 on The Range. An already existing Arizona Parents' Bill of Rights basically protects children from information collection by the state without parents' consent. You can't take DNA, get medical records, etc., from a minor without the parents' OK. That makes sense.

But with SB1244, just passed nearly unanimously by the legislature and signed by Brewer, a new piece was added to the law. Law enforcement officers can take an audio or video recording of a minor "during or as part of a law enforcement investigation" without asking parents' permission.

That makes me a little uncomfortable, just like it makes me uncomfortable when someone is questioned by police without being informed of his/her rights. Minors can make all kinds of statements which can incriminate themselves or others, statements based on what they think is true or what they think an officer expects them to say. They can easily be confused and coerced into saying things they didn't think were true until the questioner convinces them they're true. I have a right to counsel before I talk to the police. Don't minors, who often know nothing about the law and, if they're young enough, almost nothing about the real world, have the right to counsel by their parents?

Am I missing something? Am I wrong to worry about this?