Earwitness speaker identification

The scientific basis of speaker identification by human listeners and its generalization to the procedures and practices of the police and to the decision making of the courts have been both neglected and misunderstood relative to that of face and photo identification. An overview of the perception of speech is presented, followed by a review of forensically relevant variables in voice identification (i.e., speaker, listener, situational, and procedural variables). Finally, suggestions for the proper procedures and conduction of voice lineups are proposed.