A fair hearing? The use of voice identification parades in criminal investigations in England and Wales

This article reviews the current state of the law in relation to using voice identification parades to test the evidence of a witness who purports to recognise a witness by voice alone. Such procedures exist but are not used consistently by police forces, with some forces having decided as a matter of policy not to use them. Although such procedures are challenging and are more difficult that video identification procedures, the failure to conduct such a parade is a matter which should be properly taken into account in assessing the admissibility of a witness’s evidence.