Chapter 15 Document and Handwriting Analysis

Chapter 15

Document and HandwritingAnalysis

“The handwriting on the wall may be a forgery”

—Ralph Hodgson, British poet

Chapter 15 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 2

Document Analysis

That an expert analyst can individualize handwriting to a particular person.

What types of evidence are submitted to the document analyst.

Three types of forgery. How to characterize

different types of paper.

Students will learn:


Document Analysis

Students will be able to: Analyze handwriting using

12 points of analysis. Detect deliberately disguised

handwriting. Detect erasures and develop

impression writing. Design an experiment using

paper chromatography to determine which pen altered a note.

List safeguards against the counterfeiting of U.S. currency.


Questioned Documents

Involves the examination of handwriting, ink, paper, etc. to ascertain source or authenticity

Examples include letters, checks, licenses, contracts, wills, passports

Investigations include: verification, authentication, characterizing papers, pigments, and inks


Related Fields Historical Dating—the verification of age and value of a

document or object

Fraud Investigation—focuses on the money trail and criminal intent

Paper and Ink Specialists—date, type, source, and/or catalogue various types of paper, watermarks, ink, printing/copy/fax machines, computer cartridges

Forgery Specialists—analyze altered, obliterated, changed, or doctored documents and photos

Typewriting Analysts—determine origin, make, and models

Computer Crime Investigators—investigate cybercrime


Document Examination Forensic Document Examination —involves the

analysis and comparison of questioned documents with known material in order to identify whenever possible, the author or origin of the questioned document.

Over the years, the knowledge of how to write becomes subconscious and individualized.

Because it is a subconscious activity, it is difficult to disguise or fake.

Given enough and recent exemplars (sample for comparison), handwriting can be presented as individual evidence in court.


Handwriting

Handwriting analysis involves two phases: The hardware—ink, paper, pens, pencils,

typewriter, printers

Visual examination of the writing


Handwriting Characteristics 12 pts. to compare between known and questioned samples

1. Line Quality—smooth or shaky

2. Word and Letter Spacing–-check distance

between letters and words

3. Letter Comparison—check height, width and

size of letters.

4. Pen Lifts and Separation —check how and where

does the writer lift his pen

5. Connecting strokes —check how capital letters connect

to others; how strokes connect between letters and words

6. Beginning and ending strokes —check how words

begin and end; straight, curled, long, short, etc.

Chapter 15

7. Unusual Letter Formation—check for backwards letters,

letters with tails, or unusual capital letters

8. Shading or pen pressure—check for amount of pressure

used on downward and upward strokes

9. Slant—check for left, right, or no slant

10. Baseline Habits—check if it follows a straight line across

the page or moves up or down

11. Flourishes or embellishments —check for fancy letters,

little curls, loops, hearts, etc.

12. Diacritic Placement—check how the t’s are crossed or i’s

are dotted

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 9


Handwriting Identification Analysis of the “knowns” with a determination of the

characteristics found in the known Analysis of the questioned or unknown writing and

determination of its characteristics Comparison of the questioned writing with the known

writing. Evaluation of the evidence, including the similarities and

dissimilarities between the “questioned” and “known” writing

The document examiner must have enough exemplars to make a determination of whether or not the two samples match.


Handwriting Samples The subject should not be shown the

questioned document The subject is not told how to spell words or

use punctuation The subject should use materials similar to

those of the document The dictated text should match some parts

of the document The subject should be asked to sign the text Always have a witness


Methods of Forgery There are three methods of forgery:

1. Blind forgery—made without a model of the signature; forger uses his/her own handwriting

2. Simulated forgery—one made by copying a genuine signature; can be difficult to link to a suspect

3. Traced forgery—one made by tracing a genuine signature; stereomicroscopic examination is used to detect this.


Types of Forgery Check Fraud

Forgery

Counterfeit

Alterations

Paper Money Counterfeit

Identity Social Security

Driver’s license

Credit Cards Theft of card or number

Art—imitation with intent to deceive Microscopic examination

Electromagnetic radiation

Chemical analysis

Contracts—alterations of contracts, medical records


Document Alterations Obliterations—removal of writing by physical

or chemical means can be detected by: Microscopic examination—upper layer of paper

fibers is disturbed and can be seen UV or infrared (IR) light—optical brighteners added to

paper will appear dark in areas where the coating has been disturbed

Digital image processing—use of lightening, darkening, contrast and filter tools help highlight obliterated markings

Chapter 15

Indentations—impressions left on paper beneath the primary writing; can be detected by: Oblique lighting—will enhance the indentations Electrostatic detection apparatus (ESDA) —

pour toner powder from a copy machine over a charged sheet of plastic covering the paper. This creates an image, which is then photographed



Famous Forgersand Forgeries

Major George Byron (Lord Byron forgeries)

Thomas Chatterton (Literary forgeries)

John Payne Collier (Printed forgeries)

Dorman David (Texas Declaration of Independence)

Mark Hofmann (Mormon, Freemason forgeries)

William Henry Ireland (Shakespeare forgeries)

Clifford Irving (Howard Hughes forgery)

Konrad Kujau (Hitler Diaries)

James Macpherson (Ossian manuscript)

George Psalmanasar (Literary forgery)

Alexander Howland Smith (Historical documents)


Forensic Linguist

Experts that look at the linguistic content (the way something is written) of a questioned document.

Language that is used can help to establish the writer’s age, gender, ethnicity, level of education, professional training, and ideology.

Chapter 15

Individualizing Typing and Printing

Historically, it was common to individualize type based on the uniqueness of each typewriter.

Today, word processors and printers have made it more difficult to individualize. However, forensic scientists can still look for several features: Color printers and photocopiers often add a pattern of

tiny yellow dots to the printer, encoding the printer’s serial number

Trash marks made on paper by copy machines can be used; things like gripper marks, debris, etc.


Chapter 15

Paper

Most modern paper is made from wood pulp. Some are manufactured mechanically

(newspaper) Some are treated with chemicals (stationary) Some have additives such as cotton fibers (bond

paper) Some have watermarks (design added during

production)



Paper

Forensic scientists may look at the following differences to identify paper: Raw material Weight Density Thickness as determined using a micrometer Color Watermarks Age Fluorescence under ultraviolet light


Ink

Chromatography is a method of physically separating the components of inks

Types HPLC—high-performance liquid

chromatography

TLC—thin-layer chromatography

Paper Chromatography—used for water-based inks


Paper Chromatography of Ink

Two samples of black ink from two different manufacturers have been characterized using paper chromatography.

Retention Factor (Rf)

A number that represents how far a compound travels in a particular solvent

It is determined by measuring the distance the compound traveled and dividing it by the distance the solvent traveled.


Pencils

Lead Hardness Scale —a traditional

measure of the hardness of the "leads" (actually made of graphite) in pencils. The hardness scale, from softer to harder, takes the form ..., 3B, 2B, B, HB, F, H, 2H, 3H, 4H, ..., with the standard "number 2" pencil being of hardness 2H.


Evidence

Class characteristics may include general types of pens, pencils or paper.

Individual characteristics may include unique, individual handwriting characteristics; trash marks from copiers, or printer serial numbers.


Counterfeiting

In 1996 the government started adding new security features to our paper money due to the advanced copying technologies that have raised the incidences of counterfeiting. The $20 bill entered circulation on October of

2003, followed by the $50 in September of 2004, and then the $10 in September of 2005.

Subtle background colors have been added along with other features to discourage counterfeiting.


More aboutDocument Analysis

For additional information about document and handwriting analysis, check out Court TV’s Crime Library at:

lwww.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/forensics/literary/1.htm

Or forgery cases at:www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/scams/lincoln_forgers/index.html

Chapter 15 Document and Handwriting Analysis

Documents

Transcript of Chapter 15 Document and Handwriting Analysis