chapter 15 document and handwriting analysis
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Chapter 15 Document and Handwriting Analysis. “The handwriting on the wall may be a forgery” — Ralph Hodgson, British poet. Document Analysis. Students will learn:. That an expert analyst can individualize handwriting to a particular person. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Chapter 15
Document and HandwritingAnalysis
“The handwriting on the wall may be a forgery”
—Ralph Hodgson, British poet
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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:
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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Handwriting
Handwriting analysis involves two phases: The hardware—ink, paper, pens, pencils,
typewriter, printers
Visual examination of the writing
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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