Forensic Transcription is concerned with producing a written record of forensic texts.

The term forensic text includes the following types of text, whether produced as audio recordings, video recordings, or written, email, SMS or other electronic text: defendant and witness statements, anonymous (hate) mail, threat texts, suicide notes, wills, emergency calls, confessions (or denials), assault claims, missing person reports, etc. It can also include court transcripts, statutes, and any other text which may feature in litigation or criminal proceedings.

1. To educate lawyers, courts and law enforcement agencies on the importance of accurate, accredited transcription.
2. To offer a transcription service for forensic texts of all types, or to refer clients to accredited scribes and/or professional, experienced linguists.
3. To offer educational courses on how to transcribe and to accredit successful students; to provide further monitoring for accredited scribes on a regular basis to ensure that skill levels are maintained.
4. To accredit and monitor those who undertake forensic transcription.
5. To raise public awareness on the importance of accurate, accredited forensic transcription.

We need accredited scribes because it is very often the case that what defendants and witnesses say in statements is not accurately transcribed. Nowadays, interpreters and translators are accredited, and it is equally important that scribes are accredited too.

Yes, but the problem is not that statements are not being recorded, it is what happens afterwards. Frequently, video and audio tapes are given to clerical and secretarial staff to transcribe under the mistaken belief that any competent keyboard operator can undertake the highly complex task of transcribing interactive speech between two or more speakers or decipher important texts like ransom notes, suicide notes, etc. Somebody who is used to transcribing a letter dictated by his/her boss, for example, does not automatically have the knowledge and/or skill to transcribe a naturalistic conversation. It is a separate, professional skill.

It is the organisation you are now visiting. It is concerned with maintaining and improving transcription standards, professionalising the activity of forensic transcription and monitoring professionals on an ongoing basis.

The quality of many forensic transcripts reflects the points raised in previous questions: because many scribes do not have the necessary knowledge and skill they will often miss important points, summarise critical sections, make value judgements about what people are saying, ignore totally those sections where there is overlapping speech, and input their own ideas about the context of a particular section of the tape. Worse, some scribes may insert comments about body language on video recordings, or make commentary on a speaker's tone of voice. Similar concerns relate to the transcription of written language, including correction of writers' spelling, alteration of punctuation, and the changing of a wording because of related context. Very often non-trained personnel who undertake transcription work do gain some relevant skills and experience, but all would benefit from proper training and accreditation.

It is important to do so, because justice has to be seen to be done. A bad transcription is essentially an incomplete record. Serious consequences — including false imprisonment and the carrying out of the death penalty — have resulted from poor transcription in the past.

Nobody, actually, because we cannot expect police officers and lawyers to be experts in these matters. They are usually hardworking professionals who believe they are doing the right thing by handing tapes to be transcribed to secretaries and clerks and other non-trained personnel.

The remedy is that anyone who transcribes a police witness/defendant tape or any other significant tape or text should be trained, examined and accredited and should, wherever possible, act independently of either 'side' in a case.

The Forensic Transcription Service (FTrS) hopes to take the discussion forward to law enforcement associations in the UK and the USA, and to get recognition and accreditation by the proper authorities. However, it should be stated that the Director of the FTrS, John Olsson, is a practising forensic linguist who is widely consulted by law enforcement and law professionals, and that courses run by the Forensic Linguistics Institute, to which the FTrS is affiliated, are already accredited in the UK and the USA.

You need to be properly trained, and if you are not a linguist, or you are not studying linguistics, then you will need to work under the supervision of a linguist even after training (for a minimum of 12 months). This supervision can be direct supervision at your place of employment, or quality control supervision obtained by submission of transcripts to a qualified linguist who will then certify them.

Every transcription task is unique. In audio transcription there are many factors which can mitigate against a successful and accurate transcription. These include overall quality of the recording, background noise, speakers overtalking, distance of speaker/s from the microphone, accent/dialect issues, interference from contextual cues, etc. Furthermore, the linguist will be aware of morphological, syntactic, phonetic, phonological, discourse and semantic issues when transcribing. These can have a complex and unexpected input into the recording, and if a scribe is unaware of particular issues in relation to these matters, many valuable items of linguistic information will be lost. This could have a detrimental effect on a case, either for the prosecution or the defence. For written transcription, the task is also not easy. Difficulties with handwriting, type or quality of ink, and condition of the surface also need to be taken into account. Also, inexperienced scribes will often infer a word from the context in which it appears and transcribe incorrectly. Even apparently 'simple' texts have been and are frequently mis transcribed. Other dangers are:
(i) that the inexperienced scribe will attempt to 'correct' what has been written,
(ii) will alter punctuation,
(iii) will miss duplicate words at line breaks, etc.
The effect of these inputs will be that a writer's style will not be able to be accurately gauged, which is essential in identifying an author.

Proofreading a scanned document is also a highly skilled transcription task, because scanning is not 100% reliable. Some scanners are set to 'correct' spelling, fail to render certain letters or characters correctly, and not infrequently fail where the original contains fingerprint marks or other smudges. Most people tend to underestimate the human resource input that is required for accurate scanning.

It is not usually necessary to do this, but there are pitfalls with every type of document, including electronic documents. Firstly, what is the source of the document? Has it arrived for analysis in its original form? Has the file been password protected, or could there have been an opportunity for it to be corrupted? On the other hand, what if the electronic document is itself a transcript? Where is the original document? How can the analyst verify what he/she is dealing with? The inexperienced scribe might not realise, for example, that he/she is dealing with a translation or other second generation text, and makes the transcription on the basis of what is essentially an invalid or false document.

A lot depends on the source of the message. In some cases, law enforcement officers and others have had to transcribe direct from the text messages on the phone itself. Important clues are thus sometimes left out, and spelling, spacing and punctuation problems can arise. In cases where it is important to distinguish between the styles of more than one individual (witness/suspect, etc) these small points can make all the difference between distinguishing styles correctly and apprehending the perpetrator or freeing an innocent suspect.

Transcription of children's utterances is also a highly specialised field. This is generally best undertaken by linguists who have experience in, training for, or who have carried out research work in, the field of child language acquisition. The transcription of non native speakers' language is also a highly specialised field. Again, those with training and experience or research work in second language acquisition will probably be more effective than those who do not have a profile in this area. Transcription of the language of speakers with neurological or other conditions which cause speech disabilities of various kinds is also highly specialised. This work is best undertaken by language therapists (formerly referred to as 'speech therapists'), neurolinguists, or neurologists with linguistic experience or qualifications. The transcription of sign language is also highly specialised, and this work can only be undertaken by qualified sign language interpreters and speakers. This is not an area within the FTrS ambit.

If you are not a linguist, but are, for example, an interpreter, or language or literature graduate, or have considerable experience but no qualifications in transcription, your initial status will be as an Affiliated Scribe. You can achieve this status either by taking the Accreditation Test, or by enrolling in and passing the FTrS Forensic Transcription Course to 'Distinction' standard. You should be advised that the Accreditation Test is comparable to the final examination of the Forensic Transcription Course. Because you are not a qualified linguist/phonetician, your accreditation will be partial rather than full, and will be endorsed 'Affiliated scribe: Holder's transcriptions require certification by Accredited Scribe'. Full accreditation is only granted to qualified linguists/phoneticians in the first instance. However, on the recommendation of an Accredited Scribe you may, after a period of not less than one year, be admitted to Accredited Scribe status and your certificate of Accreditation will no longer be endorsed 'Affiliated scribe: Holder's transcriptions require certification by Accredited Scribe'. The Accredited Scribe who makes this recommendation will be required to state that he/she has seen at least three transcriptions you have undertaken and that they are to a sufficiently high standard to warrant Accredited scribe status.

The course consists of descriptions of different kinds of transcription, some theory, and there is a requirement to complete fifteen assignments of audio and written language transcriptions and to pass an invigilated examination. To gain employment in this field you will need a grade of at least 90%, which is the 'Distinction' Grade. After successfully completing the Forensic Transcription Course you will be accredited 'Affiliated Scribe'. After a period of no less than one year, full Accredited Scribe status can be applied for, as described above.

Where significant recorded utterances are disputed, this is sometimes undertaken by a forensic phonetician. This is not to say that a competent linguist cannot undertake this work, but — depending on the nature and type of the dispute, quality of recording, importance of the dispute relative to the case, etc., — often in conjunction with a phonetician.

Your services for the certification of transcripts will be invaluable. Those who are under training, or non-linguists who have trained as scribes will — for a time at least — need their transcription work certifying by someone such as yourself, for which a fee can be charged at the discretion of the certifying transcriptionist. You only need to self certify as an Accredited Scribe. All Accredited Scribes can certify transcriptions. Accredited Scribes may also be requested by a linguist/phonetician acting in a case to certify a transcription where the linguist/phonetician feels that the court may wish the transcription to be seen to be transparent and neutral.

If you are a qualified linguist, why not self certify or take our Accreditation Test? In either case you will receive a certificate stating that, in the view of the FTrS, you are qualified to undertake audio/written transcription. There is no charge if you self certify, but if you take the Accreditation Test the fee is £80 ($120). It covers the cost of mailing documentation to you, invigilation by an appointed examiner, and the cost of issuing a certificate. You can also take our free Competence Check, which will give you an idea of your current ability/skill level. All those who take the Competence Check will receive an email 'Competence Check' document, recording their skill level.

If you are not a qualified linguist, you can also take the free 'Competence Check', but why not also enrol for our Forensic Transcription course? The cost, at £300 (about US $500) is modest. This will mean that you will be, initially, an Affiliated Scribe, accredited by the FTrS to undertake transcription under the supervision of a linguist/phonetician. However, the linguist who oversees your work will have to be accredited by the FTrS, either by examination, Accreditation Test or by self certification.

If you register for this test you will receive an email explaining that you have to undertake an invigilated examination. The FTrS will appoint an examiner in your area, insofar as is possible. This will usually be a linguist, a phonetician, a lawyer, or other professional individual competent and willing to act as an invigilator. This individual will then be sent the necessary documentation and instructions. He/she will be required to sign a form of invigilation, stating that the examination was conducted under appropriate conditions. The invigilator will then mail all the requisite documentation to the FTrS and the candidate will be informed of the result by mail and email. The candidate will not be allowed to re-take the Accreditation Test for three months in the event of a low or fail grade.

The Forensic Transcription Course consists of theory and practice, the latter through fifteen assignments each involving the transcription of a recorded or written text. The candidate then takes a Final Examination under the auspices of an appointed Invigilator. The invigilator mails the candidate's answer paper to the FTrS, having signed a declaration that the examination was properly and appropriately conducted. The candidate is awarded one of four grades: 'Distinction', 'Merit', 'Pass' or 'Fail'. In the event of failure the candidate will have to wait three months before being able to re take the examination. The cost for re-taking the examination is £100 or $150. most of which is paid to the invigilator supervising the examination. If the candidate passes to 'Distinction' level and is already a qualified linguist/phonetician, then he/she is automatically advanced to 'Accredited Scribe' status. If the candidate is not already a qualified linguist/phonetician then the status of 'Affiliated Scribe' is awarded. After a period of not less than one year the candidate may apply for 'Accredited Scribe' status, on the recommendation of an Accredited Scribe who will be required to sign a declaration that he/she has reviewed at least three transcripts by the Affiliated Scribe and warrants those of sufficiently high standard for the award of Accredited Scribe status.

Competence Check — Free of Charge
Accreditation Test — £80 (US $120)
Self Certification Accreditation — Free of Charge
Forensic Transcription Course — £300 (US$500)
Annual re-accreditation (self certification) — Free of Charge
Annual re accreditation (by self invigilated test) — £30 (US$50)

The FTrS will hold a register of Accredited Scribes. Anyone with an interest in forensic transcription matters may apply to the FTrS for information about whether an individual is an Accredited Scribe.

Speakers of languages other than English who wish to register as Accredited Scribes will need to submit an application in writing, supported by appropriate documentation and references from organisations, senior colleagues and/or official bodies in their own country. It is hoped to appoint examiners and monitors and put in place accreditation processes for speakers of languages other than English in order to be able to provide an international service. The aim is, eventually, to be able to set up a local forensic transcription service in as many countries as possible.

A code of practice is currently being drawn up. A cornerstone of this Code will be that the linguist satisfies him/herself that any text received in connection with a case is either a faithful copy (such as a facsimile, photocopy, electronic download etc) of the original or is a certified transcription of the original. Furthermore, the onus is on the linguist to take all reasonable steps to ensure that a video or audio recording has not been tampered with, and that electronic files have not been altered or corrupted.

Another critically important element of the Code of Practice will be that scribes are to be neutral in any matter involving litigation or criminal proceedings. Scribes may be appointed by either party to an action or proceeding, but must make it clear to those who appoint them that their first duty is to the Court, and not to those by whom they are being employed. An individual who has been employed to act as a scribe in a case may not additionally undertake a forensic linguistic analysis in the same case unless he/she specifically self certifies the transcript as true and accurate to the best of his/her belief. Similarly, if a forensic linguist is employed to undertake a forensic linguistic analysis, part of which includes a transcription task, he/she has the option of requesting either that the transcription task is undertaken by another Accredited Scribe, or that an Accredited Scribe certifies the linguist's transcription, or, alternatively, the linguist, if him/herself an Accredited Scribe, may self certify the transcription him/herself. The Code of Practice will be designed to ensure safe, fair, accurate and impartial transcriptions of all forensic texts submitted to linguists, phoneticians and scribes.