Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/27706
Title: How 'Enhanced' Forensic Audio is Evaluated in Criminal Trials: What if All That Really Gets Enhanced is the Credibility of a Misleading Transcript?
Contributor(s): Fraser, Helen  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2019
Open Access: Yes
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/27706
Open Access Link: https://icphs2019.org/icphs2019-fullpapers/Open Access Link
Abstract: Covert recordings can provide powerful evidence in criminal trials. Since the audio is often of poor quality, many jurisdictions allow an ‘enhanced’ version to be admitted, along with a transcript, to assist the trier of fact in understanding the content of forensic audio. But how is ‘enhancing’ evaluated? In Australian courts, it is simply a matter for the jury to decide whether the processed audio ‘sounds clearer’ than the original. This paper presents two perception experiments showing, first, that ‘enhancing’ can make audio sound ‘clearer’ in the sense of ‘less noisy’ without making it objectively more intelligible; and, second, that ‘clearer’ audio makes listeners more likely to accept an unreliable transcript. This is a problem in view of common practices that result in admission of unreliable police transcripts as ‘assistance’ to juries. Discussion urges researchers to consider the legal context in which their work will be interpreted.
Publication Type: Conference Publication
Conference Details: ICPhS 2019: International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Melbourne, 1-5 August 2019
Source of Publication: Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Melbourne, Australia 2019, p. 726-730
Publisher: Australasian Speech Science and Technology Association Inc
Place of Publication: Canberra, Australia
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 170204 Linguistic Processes (incl. Speech Production and Comprehension)
180110 Criminal Law and Procedure
160205 Police Administration, Procedures and Practice
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 440211 Police administration, procedures and practice
520405 Psycholinguistics (incl. speech production and comprehension)
480503 Criminal procedure
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 940403 Criminal Justice
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 230403 Criminal justice
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: E1 Refereed Scholarly Conference Publication
Publisher/associated links: https://www.icphs2019.org/
Appears in Collections:Conference Publication
School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

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