Revealed: The British accents stereotyped as CRIMINALS
From the accessible Geordie twang to the instantly recognizable Edinburgh tune, Britain is home to some of the most distinctive accents in the world.
But a new study has warned that the way you talk could make people think you are a criminal.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge played recordings of men with different British accents to people from across the United Kingdom, asking them to rate them on their potential to commit crimes.
While the results will come as a relief to some Brits, they could set off alarm bells for others.
Somewhat surprisingly, men with posh English accents were rated as the least likely to commit crimes.
In contrast, Liverpool and Bradford accents were seen as those most likely to cause criminal behavior.
According to the herders, this indicates that there is a link between perceived social status and the perceived likelihood of committing crimes.
“Perceived social class, as judged by a speaker’s accent, is an important predictor of British listeners’ expectations of behavior, and this could have serious implications for the criminal justice system,” said Alice Paver, lead author of the study.
A new study has warned that the way you talk could make people think you are a criminal. Pictured: Zayn Malik, from Bradford

The Liverpool and Bradford accents were seen as the most likely to be criminal. Pictured: Stephen Graham, known for his strong Liverpool accent
In the study, the team created 30-second collages from recordings of men speaking in 10 accents: Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newcastle and Standard Southern British English (SSBE).
They then recruited 180 people from across the UK and had them take part in one of two studies.
To start, they asked participants to rate voices based on 10 social traits, such as friendliness, kindness, honesty and trustworthiness.
Participants were then asked how likely it was that the voices would exhibit ten different behaviors.
These included crimes – such as shoplifting or physically assaulting someone – and moral conduct such as cheating on a romantic partner or returning a lost wallet to its owner.
Analysis found that people from Liverpool and Bradford – whose accents were considered lower status – were rated as most likely to commit criminal offences, while people with posh English accents and Belfast accents were the least likely.
A Scouse accent was also rated as most likely to cheat on a romantic partner, while those from Belfast sounded the most loyal.
Participants said those who spoke with a posh English accent were most likely to sound rich, intelligent and well-educated, while those with a Cockney accent were the least likely.

Unsurprisingly, men with a posh English accent (Jamie Laing, pictured) were rated as the least likely to commit crimes.
Meanwhile, those from Cardiff were rated as the friendliest, while people from Newcastle scored lowest on the friendliness scale.
The researchers wrote in the journal Frontiers in Communication that those who were perceived as belonging to a lower social class were most likely to break the law.
“We found a strong link between perceived social status and perceived likelihood of committing crimes,” said lead author Alice Paver.
‘This link was more important than how trustworthy, friendly or honest someone was perceived to be.’
The team also said they hope that anyone confronted with spoken evidence in the criminal justice system will be warned not to be influenced by accent-based biases.
“These stereotypes can have legal consequences in real life,” Ms. Paver added.