International Practices in Forensic Speaker Comparison

The results of the first international survey on forensic speaker comparison practices are presented in this paper. Thirty-six experts from 13 countries and 5 continents responded to a series of questions concerning their practices in casework. Despite the responses revealing a range of differences, there is nevertheless a reasonably strong convergence with respect to the importance assigned to particular speech features, methodology and choice of framework for expressing conclusions. Practices and preferences revealed by the survey are discussed in the context of constraints imposed by the institutions and jurisdictions within which the participants are situated, and in relation to contemporary trends and developments within forensic speech science.