A new study has found that people with accents perceived to be working-class are more likely to be suspected of committing crimes. This comes as researchers have warned that negative stereotypes linked to certain accents have raised serious concerns of bias in the justice system.
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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.