By Jared Stern
Fingerprinting has been used for years to determine the individuality of a person. But, newer technology allows investigators to capture a person’s voice, a so-called “voiceprint.” Sometimes, a person’s voice is the only clue that police and forensic teams have to go on.
What Is It?
Voiceprinting is a new kind of forensic evidence that uses a person’s voice to determine certain key facts about a situation or investigation. Voice identification involves the analysis and comparison of a person’s voice, using advanced computer systems and software which can analyze how words flow together, pauses, breath, and the unique patterns generated by each individual’s mouth and larynx.
First, the quality of the recording is established using special instrumentation. In a classic sound spectrograph, the person’s voice is recorded on a magnetic disk and then sent through an amplifier.