Document and Handwriting Analysis

Forgery has been practiced since the beginning of writing. Under Roman Law, the Code of Justinian enacted in AD 539 stated that handwriting should be compared in the case of public documents and private instruments where an advantage could be gained. The code ordered that experts be used.

Essential Questions

• How can an expert analyst individualize handwriting to a particular person?

• What types of evidence are submitted to the document analyst?

• What are the three types of Forgery?

• How are different types of paper and ink characterized?

• What significant features are indicative of counterfeit money?

Documents as Evidence

How do investigators examine questionable documents?

When questioned documents are examined, various investigations are done:

• Verification of handwriting and signatures • Authenticating documents • Characterizing pigments, paper and inks used in writing utensils, instruments, and copy machines • Restoring erased and obliterated writing • Determining the relative age of the documents and inks

Handwriting Individuality

How can we use handwriting to identify a person?

• Handwriting is one of the few definitive unique characteristics available to an investigator – Childhood writing habits carry over into our adult years and are called class characteristics – The knowledge of

how

to write becomes subconscious and we develop nuances in our writing – Combinations of unique features gives our handwriting individual characteristics • With enough evidence and exemplars, a document expert may be able to present handwriting as individual evidence in a court of law.

Analysis of Handwriting

How is handwriting analyzed?

Handwriting experts may be able to make a positive identification if there are enough samples for examination and enough exemplars.

12 characteristics of examination:

3. Ratio of relative height width and size

of letters - Wider M's and W's, more

12 characteristics of examination:

5.Connecting strokes –

Wider spacing between, more squared, shorter, or broken loops 6. Beginning and ending strokes pressure, blobbed, vertical position change or slanting Heavier

7. Unusual letter formation -

or egg-shaped, frequent counterclockwise formations More teardrop

8. Shading or pen pressure

usual - Heavier than

12 characteristics of examination:

11. Flourishes or embellishments - formal foreign marks present 12. Placement of diacritics - Heavier t crossings and i-dots, position placement **

Methods of Forgery

What are the three types of Forgery?

• The most common forgery is a signature!

• There are 3 types of forgery: 1 – blind forgery, one made without a model of the signature or writing 2 – simulated forgery, genuine signature one made by copying a 3 – traced forgery, signature one made by tracing a

Obliterations

How can we tell if a document was changed? • Often documents are changed after preparation. Common methods include: – Physically erasing with a rubber eraser – Scraping the ink off the paper surface – Chemical methods • • Microscopic examination or UV light may reveal the alteration.

Digital image processing

make obliterations more visible through lightening, darkening, contrast, and filters.

Indentations

How do scientists read indented writing?

• Often an indented impression is left on paper beneath the primary writing because of the pressure of the writing utensil.

• Indentations increase a paper’s capacity to hold an electrostatic charge – Pouring toner powder from a copy machine over a charged sheet of plastic covering the paper can create and image which is then photographed.

Drawing personality inferences from handwriting samples

• Graphology systems tend to be one of three types: (1) those based on individual letter formations; (2) those based on stroke analysis; (3) those based on an holistic method • Private business companies use it routinely - Has the most validity with the following: intelligence; attitude toward work; and interpersonal skills. • Recent developments have focused on "profiling" of un captured criminals and sex offenders

Individualizing Typing and Printing

What can we tell out the printed document?

• Investigators can often individualize typewriters through wear and defects in the typeface and misalignment of characters – The FBI maintains a library of makes, models and font types • Color printers and photocopiers may add a pattern of minuscule yellow dots to the printout, encoding the printers serial number

……..

• Debris, gripper marks, platen defects, and dirt can all contribute to what are termed

“trash marks”

on copies from a copier.

Paper and Inks

What kind of information can we get from the paper?

• Paper is made from wood pulp and may contain chemicals or additive, such as cotton fibers.

– 25-50% cotton is called bond paper – Mechanically produced wood pulp paper is used in newspapers – Stationary is chemically treated with sulfate • The Forensic Scientist will look at the following characteristics to identify paper: – Raw material the paper is made from – Color – Density – Watermarks – Dyes or bleaches – Fluorescence under UV light – Paper thickness • Some manufactures include watermarks that indicate when and where the paper was manufactured

Paper and Inks

What kind of information can we get from the ink?

• Investigators often compare inks by their composition.

– Establish how long it has been on paper

Counterfeiting

How can you tell if money has been counterfeited?

-

Genuine Currency

paper has tiny red and blue fibers embedded throughout fine border lines are clear and unbroken Serial numbers nave a distinctive style and are evenly spaced. Printed in the same ink color as the Treasury Seal The saw tooth points of the Federal Reserve and Treasury Seals are clear, distinct, and sharp Genuine portrait appears lifelike and stands out distinctly from the background -

Counterfeit Money

Fake the look of these fibers by printing red and blue lines Lines in the outer margin and scrollwork may be blurred or indistinct Serial numbers may differ in color or shade of ink from the Treasury Seal. The number may not be uniformly spaced or aligned.

Seals may have uneven, blunt, or broken saw tooth points Portrait is usually lifeless and flat. Details merge into the background, which can be dark and mottled.

Comparing Money…..

What's wrong with this bill?

• • March 2006 A man was arrested for possessing 250 of these. Why?