PROFESSOR PETER FRENCH

Peter FrenchProfessor Peter French (BEd, BLing, PhD, FRSA, FIOA) is the UK’s most experienced expert in the field of forensic speech and acoustics and is chairman of J P French Associates. He has worked in the field for 30 years and, as well as carrying out research, has been involved in implementing quality regulation and accreditation for forensic speech science.

He is the President and a founding member of the International Association for Forensic Phonetics and Acoustics (IAFPA), and editor of the International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law and holds a number of offices in organisations in the discipline.

Case Experience

Prof French has provided evidence in thousands of cases across the whole range of forensic speech and audio. His evidence has been for UK Crown Courts and courts across the world, including: Australia, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Mauritius, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States of America. He has worked on cases heard by the International War Crimes Tribunal and the Bloody Sunday Inquiry.

Qualifications

1975 – Cert Ed (Distinction) English & Education, University of Leeds
1976 – BEd (Hons) English & Education, University of Leeds
1977 – BLing (Distinction) Linguistics with Phonetics, University of Manchester
1977 – International Phonetic Association Certificate in English Phonetics
1982 – PhD Analysis of recorded conversation, University of Bristol

Positions

1989-present – Chairman of J P French Associates Forensic Speech & Acoustics Laboratory, York
2015 – present: Professor of Forensic Speech Science, Dept of Language & Linguistic Science, University of York
2007-2014- Honorary Professor, Dept of Language & Linguistic Science, University of York
1976-1978 – Phonetic Fieldworker (part-time) Atlas Linguarum Europae, Dept of English Language, Folklore and Cultural Tradition, University of Sheffield
1977-1980 – Research Assistant on Language at Home and at School project, Dept of Education, University of Bristol
1980-1989 – Lecturer then Senior Lecturer in Language Studies, St John’s College York (now York St John University)
2006-2007 – Visiting Professor, Dept of Language & Linguistic Science, University of York

Offices

2006-present – President of the International Association for Forensic Phonetics and Acoustics
1994-present – Editor (Phonetics & Acoustics) International Journal of Speech Language & the Law
1999-2008 – UK Secretary of the International Society for Phonetic Sciences
2010-present – Member of Court of the University of York
2010-present – STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics – Government initiative) Ambassador
Editorial Board member Loquens: Spanish Journal of Speech Sciences
2012-present – Advisory Board member Babel – the Magazine about Language

1991-2006 – Chairman of International Association for Forensic Phonetics & Acoustics
2008-closure of CRFP in 2009 – Lead Assessor for subject specialties Forensic Speech and Audio Analysis, Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners
2012-present – Chairman of UK Home Office Regulator’s group on Forensic Speech and Audio Analysis

Fellowships

Fellow of the Institute of Acoustics
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine
Fellow of the International Society for Phonetic Sciences

Memberships

Founder Member of the International Association for Forensic Phonetics & Acoustics
Member of the International Association of Forensic Linguists
Member of the International Phonetic Association
Member of the British Association of Academic Phoneticians

Publications and presentations

Prof French has presented internationally and published widely in the field of forensic phonetics and acoustics, a selection of recent publications and presentations can be seen in his CV: Prof Peter French CV

Training

Peter French has provided in-house training seminars and practical instruction in analytic techniques to scientific and technical staff of the Metropolitan Police in London and the FBI and United States Secret Service in Washington DC. Prof French and J P French Associates also have provided staff training, including work placements and shadowing opportunities, to the Netherlands Forensic Institute.

Further to this, he supervises a number of research students:
Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York
2007-present – Eleven MSc dissertations supervised
2008-present – Supervision of 6 PhD students
2009-present – Thesis advisory panel (TAP) member for 4 PhD students

Dept of Linguistics, Rice University, Houston, Texas
2008-2011 – TAP member for 1 PhD student

Media

Prof French has appeared widely in television and radio broadcasts on his area of expertise and was in 2002 presenter of the Sony Silver Award winning Radio 3 broadcast entitled Extraneous Noises Off, which also received the BBC nomination for Prix Italia. Recent media appearances:

BBC Crime Watch in 2009 in connection with the case R -v- Richard Garner
BBC Radio 4’s The Call, March 2011
BBC Radio 4’s Word of Mouth, August 2011
ABC’s (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio National Law report, September 2011
BBC Radio 4’s Word of Mouth, March 2012
BBC Radio 4′s Frontiers, December 2012
BBC Radio Sussex’s Saturday Breakfast
BBC television’s South East Today in relation to voice analysis in the Gary Hampton murder case.
Independent Newspaper Interview The Race to Fingerprint the Human Voice 15th February 2013
Yorkshire Post feature interview The Expert who Lends his Ears to Give Vital Evidence a Fair Hearing in Court. 28th March 2013
Radio Slovenia 1 interview What can you Create with a Human Voice? 30th March 2013
Curriculum Vitae

Prof Peter French CV

http://www.jpfrench.com/staff/prof-peter-french/ 

Dr French is Chairman of the International Association for Forensic Phonetics, a Fellow of the International Society for Phonetic Sciences and a Fellow of the Institute of Acoustics. He holds Honorary positions at the University of Birmingham and St John's College, York. As one of the world's most experienced experts in the forensic audio and speech fields, he carries out work on sound enhancement, forensic phonetics and tape authentication.

Related Link: J P French Associates