Georgina Heydon

Articles by: Georgina Heydon

Forensic linguists can make or break a court case. So who are they and what do they do?

29th January 2021

Georgina Heydon, Associate Professor, RMIT University

INSIGHT: In an increasingly digital world, the role of forensic linguistics will be crucial to law enforcement as an aid to correctly identifying text authors and voices, so investment in research and awareness raising among police officers and the judiciary, are vital to its success. Georgina Heydon outlines how this powerful, yet little known, tool can be integrated into investigations.

Contact

Georgina Heydon
Associate Professor in Criminology and Justice Studies, RMIT University
Email:
[email protected]

Profile
The focus of my primary research field is the detailed analysis of the language used by participants in police interviews. I use tools developed for empirical and replicable studies of interaction to identify the impact of different questioning strategies in interviews with suspects and witnesses. More broadly, I provide training and professional development to legal and law enforcement professionals in cross-cultural communication, using an interpreter, and credibility assessment. I am concerned with detainees' human rights and effective interviewing within an ethical framework of practice. A more recent area of research has been the implications of widespread criminal records checking by employees for ex-offenders and for their reintegration and rehabilitation. I am also a forensic linguist and provide linguistic expert evidence in court cases.