Researchers have said a study that found people who speak with accents perceived as working class are more likely to be suspected of committing a crim

People with working-class accents more likely to be suspected of committing crimes

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2025-01-20 04:00:04

Researchers have said a study that found people who speak with accents perceived as working class are more likely to be suspected of committing a crime raises “serious concerns” about bias in the UK criminal justice system.

People with accents from Liverpool, Newcastle, Bradford and London risked being stereotyped, according to research led by the University of Cambridge in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University.

The stereotypes could affect all parts of the system, from arrest to sentencing, and undermined not only suspects and defendants but also the testimony of witnesses, researchers said.

The findings, published in Frontiers in Communication, said despite progress in equality and diversity in some parts of British life, including “working class” and regional accents becoming more prominent on television and radio, harmful stereotypes remain.

“Our findings bring into sharp focus the disadvantage that speakers of some accents may still face in the criminal justice system,” said the lead author, Alice Paver, from the University of Cambridge’s phonetics laboratory and Jesus College, Cambridge.