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SUMMARY:Applying linguistics - language use and the process of reconstruct
 ing serious crimes through language - Silke Kirschner (Central Police Trai
 ning and Development Authority (Centrex))
DTSTART:20061127T170000Z
DTEND:20061127T180000Z
UID:TALK5702@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Edith Esch
DESCRIPTION:Does linguistics matter within the criminal justice system? It
  does and\, in fact\, alongside other – physical – evidence\, it often
  is the main tool to reconstruct a crime. A person who becomes a victim of
  a serious crime such as a sexual assault\, would first of all talk to the
  police about what has happened to them. This often marks the beginning of
  a long ‘linguistic battle’ about finding out what exactly has happene
 d – in order to successfully investigate and prosecute the crime.  \n\nT
 his presentation aims at first giving a brief insight into the importance 
 of language awareness within the police setting in general and the work of
  the Serious Crime Analysis Section (SCAS) in particular. SCAS supports in
 vestigations into serious sexually motivated crimes such as rape and murde
 r across the UK and Northern Ireland.  \n\nOn the basis of the victim’s 
 account of the crime\, SCAS analysts establish the main features of the of
 fender’s behaviour and would subsequently search a special database in o
 rder to identify similar cases that may have been committed by the same of
 fender. The way relevant information is input onto that database is crucia
 l as it influences the success of retrieving similar cases\; it thereby po
 tentially impacts on the subsequent investigative process.  \n\nFinally\, 
 it will be discussed what is currently being done in SCAS to control and i
 mprove the quality of the data.
LOCATION:Room 1S3 New Faculty of Education Building\, Hills Road
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