LADO as Forensic Speaker Profiling

Abstract

There has been considerable debate on the role of native speaker consultants working alongside linguists in Language Analysis for the Determination of Origin (LADO) casework. There is widespread acknowledgement that linguists and native speakers possess different skills and knowledge about language. Logically, therefore, there is potential to integrate the insights from linguists and native speakers, in order to eliminate the gaps and alleviate the flaws of a single approach to analysis. As Patrick (Language analysis for determination of origin: objective evidence for refugee status determination. In: Tiersma PM, Solan LM (eds) The Oxford handbook of language and law. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012: 544) notes, “[t]he real question is not whether, but how, NENS [non-expert native speaker] knowledge should be used in LADO.” However, little work has explored the strengths and weaknesses of different types of analyst, or tested how collaborative analysis might best be produced. In this contribution we discuss our experience of working with native speaker consultants in other types of forensic case. In many respects LADO can be considered a specialised form of forensic speaker profiling. We consider parallels between LADO and forensic speaker profiling, drawing on our casework experience. In particular, we discuss the ways in which the skills and knowledge of a native speaker consultant can be harnessed in a team approach to forensic casework. We consider the kinds of background and training that are required, the in-house training given to consultants that we have worked with, and the ways in which a forensic analyst can best monitor and assess the contribution made by a consultant. We contextualise the discussion relative to other desiderata for LADO, including with reference to linguists, and to current proposals for expert evidence in general.