ANF II Underwent Certification in Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus
Speech Technology Ltd. has got the noise filtering and audio recording station ANF II certificated. The device is used to monitor negotiations in noisy acoustic environment, process information in call centers. It is perfect as a server for noise filtering in phonoscope laboratories; it makes it possible to record court proceedings and question witnesses meanwhile changing the recognizability of their speech.
According to the resolution of Forensic Examination and Criminalistics Center of Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus the recordings made by ANF II can be used to identify the speaker by their voice. The feature of changing the recognizability of speech provides security for the witnesses at court proceedings.
ANF II has a lot of input/output interfaces which makes it flexible and easy to use. The storage battery and remote access via Web-interface make for the mobility and portability of ANF II.
Characteristics of ANF II:
- 9 algorithms of noise cleaning: broadband noise filter (3 modes), low-frequency noise filter, equalizer (2 modes), de-clicker, automatic speech level enhancer, stereo filter
- Network interface
- Sound input from built-in microphones, line analog input, digital input and phone lines
- Recording can be started manually, remotely via Web-interface, or automatically (time schedule or voice activation)
- Audio storage on a SD card up to 32 GB
- Recording “in a circle”
- Unlimited number of filtering presets
A large number of noise filtering algorithms, presets and equalizer make the device flexible and suitable to complete any task that involves sound processing. The possibility to create and save one’s own template of processing profile makes it possible to adjust the device to doing certain tasks.
Moreover, the device can work in a standalone mode in any conditions due to the possibility to save audio recordings on a SD card up to 32 GB.
What is witness protection? What does it include? In what way is it used for the benefit of lawsuit and judicial investigation of criminal cases? Are there any universal keys to the success of Witness Protection Program? Can the countries that lack finance and human resources afford having such programs which are being used and highly valued in the countries where the law enforcement system is generously supplied with financial and other resources?
In a number of countries during witness testimony the court can take measures to secure the witnesses so that they could give testimony without worrying about safety of their lives. Such measures can be taken in the cases that need precaution in order to avoid repeat victimization of witnesses. In such cases as trials for human trafficking, sexual abuse, involvement of children as witnesses, domestic crimes, the contacts of witnesses with the public and mass media are kept to a minimum.
Paragraph 18 of article 18 of Organized Crime Convention suggests that the member states should adopt the internal legislation allowing testimony via video communication or other technical equipment, e.g. the devices and software that distort image and voice in order to avoid witness identification.
Methods of image and voice distortion can be applied to conceal the witness identity in cases when the witness and the accused know each other.
If a witness can be recognized by their voice, one can use special electronic equipment that distorts the witness’s voice while they give testimony from behind the screen or via video conference. If the audio recording of the proceedings is compulsory, the legal materials must contain the testimony given when the witness’s voice is distorted.
The picture above represents the oscillograms and spectrograms of an original speech signal (male voice) and the ones processed by the voice distorter built in ANF II. It is obvious that the pitch contours and the power spectrums are different in all the fragments which makes it impossible to identify the speaker either aurally or by a phonoscopic examination.
It makes the device useful at the court proceedings where the distortion of voice is essential for safety of a witness. And the portability of the device makes it easy to use during witness protection process.
