Bridging the gap between research and practice
The Forensic Speech Science group in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York are world leaders in teaching and research. Through FoSS, we are expanding to offer services and professional development opportunities beyond the academic arena. Find out more about us and our services below.
Continued Professional Development
We offer a range of Continued Professional Development courses for those working in forensic practice or in the police and security forces. Additionally, we are happy to explore bespoke content and delivery options to meet the needs of national and international clients. Visit our CPD page for more details.
Forensic Services
We're developing a range of services to support practitioners and sole providers to meet the growing needs of regulation, validation and accreditation. More details are available on our Services page.
Additionally, we are in the process of establishing procedures to enable us to carry out a limited amount of forensic speaker comparison casework. Keep checking the Forensic Services page for updates.
Consultancy
Something else? We're always interested in collaborating on research and consultancy projects to test new methods and improve ways of doing things. If you're interested in collaborating, do get in touch. Updates on projects will be posted on our Consultancy page.
Meet the team
Jessica Wormald
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 Hughes
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 Pattison
Joe is Quality and Accreditation Manager for FoSS in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York.
Amelia Gully
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 Tompkinson
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 Foulkes
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.