Continuing Professional Development

Jessica is a Lecturer in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York and is co-leading the development of FoSS. She is involved with establishing the full range of services. She is familiar with a range of casework methods and has carried out research in both forensic speech science and sociophonetics. Prior to working at the University, Jess worked for six years in forensic practice. Finding ways to bring together research and practice is central to Jess' approach. 

You can read more about Jessica and her research interests on her website.

Vincent is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York and is co-leading the development of FoSS. He is involved in developing services and will be involved in delivery of CPD courses, linguistic-phonetic and automatic casework, as well as undertaking consultancy work. Vince is currently involved in a range of research projects working across academia, industry and Government on key issues in forensic speech science and forensic science more generally.

You can read more about Vince and his research interests on his website.

Joe is Quality and Accreditation Manager for FoSS in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York. He is responsible for developing and maintaining the team’s quality management system to ensure that forensic casework is delivered with consistency, accuracy, reliability and impartiality. Joe has an academic background in both audio engineering and forensic speech science, and previously worked in UK law enforcement conducting complex audio forensic casework.

Amelia is a Lecturer in Speech Science in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York. She is involved in the design and delivery of CPD training courses in FoSS. Amelia has a background in audio signal processing and is currently involved in a range of local and international research projects focusing on individual variability in the human voice. 

You can read more about Amelia and her research on the University of York website.

James is a Lecturer in Sociolinguistics in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York. He is involved in the design and delivery of CPD training courses in FoSS. James teaches across a range of subjects including phonetics, sociolinguistics, forensic linguistics, forensic speech science and attitudes towards spoken and written language. He is involved in a range of research projects across these areas and has a core interest in research which has direct practical applications in forensic and legal settings. 

You can read more about James and his research on the University of York website.

Paul is Professor of Linguistics and Phonetics in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York. He has undertaken research and casework in speaker comparison, speech attribution, transcription and decipherment of difficult recordings, and speaker profiling. He has provided expert witness evidence for legal cases in the UK, Australia, Ghana, Sweden and New Zealand, and training and consultancy for the FBI, US Secret Service, and a number of national governments and forensic laboratories. 

You can read more about Paul and his research on his website.

Lauren is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York. She has undertaken research on the production of transcripts for use in the criminal justice system and is actively engaging with police and government stakeholders regarding the use of AI technologies for the transcription of speech. Lauren is also the founder of the new International Network for Forensic Transcription, strengthening the relationship between forensic practice and academic research.

You can read more about Lauren and her research interests on her website.

Ben is a Lecturer in Phonetics in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York. He has undertaken research on methods in forensic speaker comparison testing and is currently involved in a range of research projects investigating the relationship between individual voices and generative AI and deepfake technologies. He teaches modules across forensic phonetics, phonetics and phonology and data science and organizes the monthly FSS Talks series hosted at York.

You can read more about Ben and his research interests on his website.

Philip is the Research Software Engineer Team Lead in the IT Services Research IT Team at the University of York. He is involved across the range of services offered by FoSS with a particular focus on technical aspects concerning casework, research and software. Philip has over 25 years of forensic casework and research experience in the areas of speech and audio analysis across both private practice and academia.

Michelle Hickman is the Administrator to the Forensic Speech Services (FoSS) group within the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York.