Document and Handwriting Analysis

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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.

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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?

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Documents as EvidenceHow 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

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Handwriting IndividualityHow 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.

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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.

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12 characteristics of examination

• 1. Line quality - Irregular, laborious, shaky,
  lack of rhythm
• 2. Spacing of words or letters -Larger, wider,
  higher, inconsistent, different spacing after
  caps
• 3. Ratio of relative height width and size of
  letters - Wider M's and W's, more squared or
  wedge-shaped stokes
• 4. Pen Lifts and separations - Frequent lifts
  off paper

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12 characteristics of examination

• 5.Connecting strokes Wider spacing between,
  more squared, shorter, or broken loops
• 6. Beginning and ending strokes - Heavier
  pressure, blobbed, vertical position change or
  slanting
• 7. Unusual letter formation - More teardrop or
  egg-shaped, frequent counterclockwise formations
• 8. Shading or pen pressure - Heavier than usual

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12 characteristics of examination

• 9. Slant - Greater than 5 degree change,
  other-hand slanting
• 10. Baseline habits - Change in baseline habits,
  more downward slants from baseline
• 11. Flourishes or embellishments - formal
  signature used, often retracing strokes, foreign
  marks present
• 12. Placement of diacritics - Heavier
  t-crossings and i-dots, position placement
  changes

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Methods of ForgeryWhat 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, one made by copying a
  genuine signature
• 3 traced forgery, one made by tracing a
  signature

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ObliterationsHow 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.

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IndentationsHow 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 papers 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.

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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

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Individualizing Typing and PrintingWhat 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.

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Paper and InksWhat 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
• Some manufactures include watermarks that
  indicate when and where the paper was
  manufactured

• 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

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Paper and InksWhat kind of information can we
get from the ink?

• Investigators often compare inks by their
  composition.
• Establish how long it has been on paper

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CounterfeitingHow can you tell if money has been
counterfeited?

• 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.

• 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

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Comparing Money..
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What's wrong with this bill?

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