A recent voice parade

Abstract

An account is given of a case in which a voice parade contributed significantly to prosecution evidence. A witness had overhead his landlord arranging for another younger man to set fire to a house (where a fire later that night resulted in a woman’s death), and claimed to know the voice. A voice parade was constructed using composite samples from this suspect’s interview tapes, and, as foils, composite samples from police interviews with similar young men from the London Asian community. The witness identified the man from the voice parade, and also recognized him in a visual parade. This, together with other evidence, resulted in both men being convicted. The paper outlines the problems involved in picking foils from the interview tapes supplied by the police, discusses the format and conduct of the resulting parade including the question asked of the witness, and summarizes challenges in court to the fairness of the parade. In conclusion ways are suggested in which the procedure might be streamlined and its reliability improved.