00:00A new study has found that people with accents perceived to be working class are more likely
00:05to be suspected of committing crimes. This comes as researchers have warned that negative
00:10stereotypes linked to certain accents have raised serious concerns of bias in the justice
00:15system. The accents associated with this news include accents from Liverpool, Newcastle,
00:21Bradford and London, all of which risk being stereotyped. Researchers reported that the
00:26stereotyping undermined not only suspects and defendants, but also the testimony of
00:31witnesses. Lead author Alice Paver, from the University of Cambridge's Phonetics Laboratory
00:37and Jesus College, Cambridge, said voices play a powerful role in the criminal justice
00:42system and police officers, lawyers and juries are all susceptible to judging voices based
00:47on stereotypes, whether they are aware of it or not. As things stand, listeners think
00:53some accents sound guiltier than others. In the study, the RP-like accent was perceived
00:58as the least likely to behave in criminal ways, while the Liverpool and Bradford accents
01:03were the most likely.
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