August 10, 2006
Text Message 'Accents' Could Catch Crooks
Mobile phone users' text message 'accents' could be used as evidence to cage criminals, eports Life Style Extra.
Researchers at the University of Leicester (UK) say texters can be identified by their messaging style and that groups of people pick up similar styles, in the same way as regions and gangs have particular accents.
Now forensic psychologists have launched a study to assess the similarities and differences between individuals and groups of people.
In 2002, a court heard that the alibi of Stuart Campbell, the builder who murdered his 15-year-old Danielle Jones, was flawed. It rested on Danielle sending him SMS, but analysis showed the texts were not written in her style. Campbell was convicted of the murder. Dr Tim Grant, one of the project leaders, said this showed texts could be invaluable in evidence, and said he hoped the research would take the forensic implications of text evidence further forward.
Dr Grant said that groups and gangs develop a similar texting style or "accent". "As texting is a relatively new mode of communication, there are no generally accepted constraints and rules of grammar are quite weak. This freedom allows for significant individual differences in text messaging style, and this can be used to identify the text's authors."
Dr Grant added that there is a possibility of producing a computer program that could use the findings to analyse text messages, but it would depend on the frequency of cases."
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