Finding the missing: using statement analysis to assist in missing persons cases

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the complexity of missing persons cases and highlight the linguistic differences that arise in this type of crime. Missing persons cases are typically very complex investigations. Without a body, crime scene forensics is not possible, and police are often left only with witness and suspect statements. Forensic linguistics methods may help investigators to prioritise or remove suspects. There are many competing approaches in forensic linguistic analysis; however, there is limited empirical research available on emerging methods.

Design/methodology/approach

This research investigates Statement Analysis, a recent development in linguistic analysis that has practical applications in criminal investigations. Real-world statements of individuals convicted of or found to be not guilty of their involvement in missing persons cases were used in the analyses. In addition, Behaviour Sequence Analysis was used to map the progressions of language in the suspects' statements.

Findings

Results indicated differences between the guilty and innocent individuals based on their language choices, for example, guilty suspects in missing [alive] cases were found more likely to use passive language and vague words because of high levels of cognitive load associated with the several types of guilty knowledge suspects in missing persons cases possess. Of particular interest is the use of untruthful words in the innocent suspects’ statements in missing [murdered] cases. While typically seen in deceptive statements, untruthful words in innocent statements may result because of false acquittals.

Originality/value

This research provides some support for Statement Analysis as a suitable approach to analysing linguistic statements in missing persons cases.

Citation

Richards, Y., McClish, M. and Keatley, D. (2023), "Finding the missing: using statement analysis to assist in missing persons cases", Journal of Criminal Psychology, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 300-315. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCP-02-2023-0008