Forensic Lipreading: Fact or Fiction? 

If you've arrived here after watching Code of Silence, you may be wondering whether you can train to become a forensic lipreader. The answer is not quite as straightforward as the television drama suggests. The ITV drama featuring Rose Ayling Ellis has got people talking about forensic lipreading. If you are thinking about learning to lipread, it is important to realise that our online lipreading classes have very little to do with forensic lipreading! As far as we know, there is no specific forensic lipreading course, or police lip reading course, and if there is/was, it would have very little to do with an average lipreading class.

Forensic lipreading is a highly specialised service & skill that has gained some traction in the UK. It can sometimes be used in legal and criminal investigations to interpret speech from video recordings, such as CCTV footage or surveillance tapes where there is little or no sound, perhaps due to a noisy environment or poor quality recording.

How Forensic Lipreading Is Used in the UK

Forensic lipreading in the UK is sometimes requested in criminal cases where visual evidence from security cameras or covert surveillance lacks sound. However, its credibility can be challenged in court, as there is not yet any kind of standardised accuracy to measure against. It's admissibility as evidence depends on the presiding judge in the case. It would normally be regarded as supplementary evidence, rather than conclusive proof of anything.

Our Code of Silence article explains how realistically the ITV drama portrays forensic lipreading and where television differs from everyday lipreading practice. 

The skills of an expert, or forensic lipreader might be called upon in the following examples:

CCTV footage from crime scenes, where audible speech was not recorded.

Covert police operations, where audio capture was not possible, or legal.

Disputed media footage, for example, during public incidents captured by the press or security systems.

Who Performs Forensic Lipreading?

Typically, expert/forensic lipreaders in the UK are highly skilled lipreaders, but holding no specific qualification to demonstrate that fact. There is no such thing as  "Qualified Forensic Lipreader", and no such police lipreading training exists, as far as we know.  Many of the expert lipreaders are profoundly Deaf or have severe hearing loss, and have learned to lipread to a very high standard. They might utilise assistive technology in everyday life, but often rely on lipreading as a primary form of communication, giving them exceptional skill in interpreting speech from visual cues alone. 

Limitations and Challenges

Forensic lipreading has limitations, primarily because lipreading is not an exact science. Lipreading challenges are myriad. Estimations vary, but hover around the statistic that only about 30-45% of speech is visible on the lips. Many letters when spoken look very similar on the lips (for example, BPM, "Buh" "Puh" "Muh"). These are the types of visible lip shapes that we focus on in beginners lipreading classes, because they are amongst the easiest to see. Additionally, the interpretation of certain words or phrases can be  highly ambiguous without  any context. 

Legal and Ethical Considerations

In the UK, the use of forensic lipreading must comply with legal and ethical standards, especially concerning privacy and surveillance laws. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) governs the use of surveillance, ensuring that any evidence gathered through these means, including lipreading, is obtained legally and ethically.

Overall, while forensic lipreading is a useful tool in certain criminal investigations, its limitations mean it is often used in conjunction with other evidence, rather than as a standalone method of proving facts in court.

Lipreading Tutors Are Not Lipreading Experts!

ATLA Qualified lipreading tutors are not permitted to undertake forensic lipreading work. The actual number of people who claim to be forensic lipreaders in the UK is very small. Lipreading tutors are teachers, not lipreading experts. Forensic lip readers have true expertise applied within a particular context. ATLA lipreading tutors may occasionally be exceptionally good lipreaders, but do not claim to be experts at lipreading. They have undergone a City and Guilds lipreading qualification, often alongside an Adult Education & Training qualification, meaning they can teach lipreading to adults.  A forensic lipreading course is not a certification path we are aware of.

So, enjoy Code of Silence, but please be aware that our online lipreading classes are not designed to train forensic lipreaders!

Did you come here looking for lipreading courses near me? Online lipreading classes are available to UK students via this website.