Speech Decoding & Forensic Transcription
You get more than just a transcript - you get a phonetic and acoustic analysis.
"Sometimes an entire case can hang on one word. It is critical, therefore, that the correct interpretation of the disputed word is made – with the proviso that this is possible, since the quality of many recordings, especially those made covertly, is often poor. In one case two suspects were discussing a crime. The one was heard to say ‘…weapons that we used’ or ‘weapons that were used’. Simply listening to the tape over and over yielded little, although it was suspected that there was a little colouring of the vowel with an /r/ sound.
The only way to resolve the problem was to get a panel of speakers with similar dialects to the target speaker to produce both phrases, as naturally as possible, in a sentence. The spectrogram to the right is an example of a 'typical' speaker of the dialect. As can be seen there are clear differences in the formant patterns for the two expressions 'we used' and 'were used'. In the case in question, it became clear which of the two expressions had been said by the suspects: they had said "were used", and therefore, the allegation that they had used the weapons in question could not be supported by the questioned utterance.
With Textphonic Communications, Inc., as you can see from this example, you get more than a good typist transcribing your recording, you get forensic analysis of the important components, an analysis which is good enough to put before a judge and a jury.
With Textphonic Communications, Inc., as you can see from this example, you get more than a good typist transcribing your recording, you get forensic analysis of the important components, an analysis which is good enough to put before a judge and a jury.
World Renowned Forensic Linguist
Audio enhancement, restoration, and speech decoding involves a complex range of skills, including knowledge of acoustic techniques, spectrogram analysis and linguistic aspects such as discourse, phonetics and phonology and, on occasion, a knowledge of a number of different dialects.
Upon completion of a project, we will usually certify our work to a forensic standard, capable of being used as evidence in court, or as intelligence to assist an investigation. Our leading, internationally recognized expert in this area, Dr John Olsson has prepared over 400 reports for law enforcement and prosecutors and defense attorneys, as well as for private clients.
Dr John Olsson is also the author of two books: "Forensic Linguistics" and "Word Crime." They are sold internationally and have been translated into other languages including Chinese and Arabic. The text, "Forensic Linguistics," is used at various universities for introductory forensic linguistics courses.
Upon completion of a project, we will usually certify our work to a forensic standard, capable of being used as evidence in court, or as intelligence to assist an investigation. Our leading, internationally recognized expert in this area, Dr John Olsson has prepared over 400 reports for law enforcement and prosecutors and defense attorneys, as well as for private clients.
Dr John Olsson is also the author of two books: "Forensic Linguistics" and "Word Crime." They are sold internationally and have been translated into other languages including Chinese and Arabic. The text, "Forensic Linguistics," is used at various universities for introductory forensic linguistics courses.
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Real examples of forensic transcription & audio enhancement being used in legal cases:
Case # 1: A prisoner was suspected of having murdered a drug dealer while on probation. He met with his girlfriend in the prison visiting room every week. Police officers positioned a tape recorder to record their conversations, but the visiting room typically contained over 300 people and the volume of noise rendered the conversations almost inaudible. After extensive restoration and forensic transcription by Dr John Olsson, it was established that the suspect bragged to his girlfriend about the killing and went into some detail as to how he had carried out the unprovoked attack.
Case # 2: Several young men suspected of kidnapping and blackmail engaged in cellphone conversations recorded by one of their victims on his own phone. Despite the poor quality of the audio our experts were able to transcribe the conversation almost perfectly. Subsequently, the men involved were imprisoned for their offences.
Case # 3: Covert equipment was set up by law enforcement authorities in an individual’s house under a court order. He was suspected of dealing in cocaine. When authorities came to listen to the audio they discovered that the microphones had been wrongly positioned and the conversations were muffled by background noises including a washing machine and microwave oven. Dr Olsson restored the audio for them, which was now found to include conversations about drug shipments from the middle east and the sale and distribution to other localities in the area. Subsequently, the individuals concerned were found guilty of narcotic possession and supply, and received substantial prison sentences.
Case # 4: Authorities sent a psychologist to interview a child suspected of having been abused. However, the psychologist falsely claimed the mother was to blame for having fabricated the story against another family member. Fortunately, the interaction between the psychologist and the child was tape-recorded and, after enhancement and decoding by our experts, it was shown that the psychologist had reported the case completely incorrectly.
Case # 5: A family sought to bring a law suit against a family services division. However, audio recordings, restored by our professionals because of their original poor quality, demonstrated that the government agency had carried out complete due diligence and that the family’s claims were inaccurate, thus exonerating the agency.
Case # 6: An officer was accused of corruption by a member of the public. However, analysis of the language used showed that the allegation was completely false and the officer was fully exonerated with no sustainable claim against his record. In fact, it turned out that he had tried his best to help the alleged ‘victim’.
Case # 7: Several young men traveling in a car were discussing a recent crime. However, the car radio was playing at the time and the car engine was also noisy. Careful restoration, enhancement, and speech decoding by our experts was able to provide a full transcription to the authorities. The young men, who had only been suspected of car thefts, had been discussing the murder of another youth in a clearing near a river.
Case # 2: Several young men suspected of kidnapping and blackmail engaged in cellphone conversations recorded by one of their victims on his own phone. Despite the poor quality of the audio our experts were able to transcribe the conversation almost perfectly. Subsequently, the men involved were imprisoned for their offences.
Case # 3: Covert equipment was set up by law enforcement authorities in an individual’s house under a court order. He was suspected of dealing in cocaine. When authorities came to listen to the audio they discovered that the microphones had been wrongly positioned and the conversations were muffled by background noises including a washing machine and microwave oven. Dr Olsson restored the audio for them, which was now found to include conversations about drug shipments from the middle east and the sale and distribution to other localities in the area. Subsequently, the individuals concerned were found guilty of narcotic possession and supply, and received substantial prison sentences.
Case # 4: Authorities sent a psychologist to interview a child suspected of having been abused. However, the psychologist falsely claimed the mother was to blame for having fabricated the story against another family member. Fortunately, the interaction between the psychologist and the child was tape-recorded and, after enhancement and decoding by our experts, it was shown that the psychologist had reported the case completely incorrectly.
Case # 5: A family sought to bring a law suit against a family services division. However, audio recordings, restored by our professionals because of their original poor quality, demonstrated that the government agency had carried out complete due diligence and that the family’s claims were inaccurate, thus exonerating the agency.
Case # 6: An officer was accused of corruption by a member of the public. However, analysis of the language used showed that the allegation was completely false and the officer was fully exonerated with no sustainable claim against his record. In fact, it turned out that he had tried his best to help the alleged ‘victim’.
Case # 7: Several young men traveling in a car were discussing a recent crime. However, the car radio was playing at the time and the car engine was also noisy. Careful restoration, enhancement, and speech decoding by our experts was able to provide a full transcription to the authorities. The young men, who had only been suspected of car thefts, had been discussing the murder of another youth in a clearing near a river.
Call or Email Us Today
(509) 413-3448
info@Textphonic.com
(509) 413-3448
info@Textphonic.com