Forensic voice identification in France

Among the sources of information used in legal identification, fingerprints and genetic data seem to provide a high degree of reliability. It is possi ble to evaluate the probability of confusing two individuals who might poss ess the same fingerprint characteristics or the same genetic markers, and t o quantify the risk of a false alarm. By their very nature, these data do n ot vary significantly over the course of time, and they cannot be modified by a suspect. The erroneous metaphoric term "voiceprint" leads many people (not only the general public) to believe that the voice is as reliable as t he papillary ridges of the fingertips. This is not the case. According to p resent evidence, certain magistrates in France attach far too much importan ce to analyses of the voice which, along with other indices, should not be used except to help in directing an investigation. In this communication, t he author will detail the conditions under which, in France, voice analyses are carried out in the course of an investigation undertaken by the law, a nd will attempt to define the limits of this protocol, and the difficulty ( and impossibility) of producing a reliable statistical test. A historical r eview will then be presented of the discussions initiated by and position s tatements adopted by the French speech community since 1900. Finally some i deas and proposals will be put forward in conclusion, which might be discus sed by specialists in speech in collaboration with the police, the gendarme rie, and the magistrature, on a national, European, and international level , to advance the search for legal proof of identification within a scientif ic framework, and to end up with well-defined protocols. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.