Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/30194
Title: The reliability of voice recognition by 'ear witnesses': An overview of research findings
Contributor(s): Fraser, Helen  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2019
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.21747/21833745/lanlaw/6_2a1
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/30194
Abstract: An ear witness is an individual lacking training in relevant branches of phonetic science, who hears a voice related to a crime, and claims to be able to identify the speaker. As with eye witness evidence, condent ear witness testimony is known to be highly compelling to triers of fact. But how reliable is it? This paper provides an overview of research ndings, focusing mainly but not exclusively on situations where the witness hears an unfamiliar voice, then recognises someone heard at a later date as having been the speaker. The overview starts by outlining research demonstrating the unreliability of eye witness evidence, and the measures now commonly used in trials to counter its acknowledged weaknesses. It then reviews evidence from long-standing research across several disciplines indicating that ear witness evidence is considerably less reliable than eye witness evidence, and that its weaknesses are harder to cure.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Language and Law / Linguagem e direito, 6(2), p. 1-9
Publisher: Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Letras
Place of Publication: Portugal
ISSN: 2183-3745
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 170204 Linguistic Processes (incl. Speech Production and Comprehension)
200404 Laboratory Phonetics and Speech Science
200401 Applied Linguistics and Educational Linguistics
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 520405 Psycholinguistics (incl. speech production and comprehension)
470410 Phonetics and speech science
470401 Applied linguistics and educational linguistics
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 940403 Criminal Justice
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 230403 Criminal justice
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

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