Chapter 15 Document and Handwriting Analysis “The handwriting on the wall may be a forgery” —Ralph Hodgson, British poet

Chapter 15

Document and HandwritingAnalysis

“The handwriting on the wall may be a forgery”

—Ralph Hodgson, British poet

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 2Chapter 15

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 (basically, any written or printed material one would encounter in daily, social or business activities)

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


Questioned Documents

Analysis is not limited to paper documents.May also include writings or other markings

found on walls, windows, doors, or any other object


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


Handwriting Comparisons

No two individuals write exactly alike and an individual will never write the same way twice.

Early stages (learning how to write) consist of copying standard letter forms

Nerve and motor responses become subconscious with repetition.

Individuals then develop habitual shapes and patterns that make it distinctive.


Handwriting Characteristics

Learned early through repetitionThe style is fairly consistentCarries over into adulthoodClass Characteristics

Over the years how to write becomes subconscious and we develop unique styles of writingThese characters make handwriting Individualized


Activity

When handwriting is subconscious it is very difficult to disguise.

Lets try it!

1. Page 331-332 Simulated Forgery Activity


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.


Collection the “Knowns”

Exemplar – An authentic sample used for comparison purposes such as handwriting

Obtaining an adequate number is critical in the outcome of the analysis

No two specimens are ever identical in every detail due to natural variations (the normal deviations found between repeated specimens)


Handwriting

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

typewriter, printers

Visual examination of the writing


Handwriting Characteristics

Line Quality Word and Letter

Spacing Letter Comparison Pen Lifts Connecting strokes Beginning and ending

strokes

Unusual Letter Formation

Shading or pen pressure

Slant Baseline Habits Flourishes or

embellishments Diacritic Placement


A closer look

Line quality: Are the lines smooth, free flowing, and rhythmic, or shaky, nervous, and wavering?

Spacing of words and letters: Examine the average amount of space between words and letter formation. Is the spacing between words and letters consistent in the questioned and the known?

Ratio of relative height, width, and size of letters: What are the overall height, width, and size of letters in both the known and questioned documents? Are they consistent?


Closer look continued.

Pen lifts and separations: Check how the writer stops to form new letters and begin words.

Connecting strokes: Compare how capital letters are connected to lowercase letters and how strokes connect between letters and words

Beginning and ending strokes: How does the writer begin words, numbers, or letters and how are they ended?

Unusual letter formation: Look for letters written backwards, letters with tails or unusual capital letters


Closer look continued

Shading or pen pressure: Is there a difference in the pressure used on the downward and upward strokes?

Slant: Do the letters slant to the right or left? Baseline habits: Does it follow a straight line, move

downward or upward? Above or below the line? Flourishes or embellishment: Fancy letters, curls, loops,

circles, double loops, or underlines? Placement of diacritics: Crossing of t’s and dotting of i’s,

j’s and any other letters and punctuation marks.


Analysis of Your Writing Characteristics

1. You will need a long piece of your own writing or copy four paragraphs from the book.

2. Use the criteria described on pages 328-329 to comment on each of the 12 characteristics listed on page 330.

3. Be sure to address each of the 12 characteristics


Comparisons Overall form – size, shape, slant, proportion, and the

beginning and ending strokes of the letters are part of the writers overall form

Line features – writing speed, fluidity, and the amount of pen pressure used provides hints about line features.

Margins and format – width of margins, consistency of the spacing, and the slant between lines fit into this category

Content – Grammar, punctuation, and word choice help point the examiner toward consistent errors, repeated phrases, and other clues that hint at a writer’s ethnicity or level of education


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


Forgery

Defined as writing or altering a document with the intent to defraud


Methods of Forgery

Simulated forgery—one made by copying a genuine signature (aka freehand simulation)

Traced forgery—one made by tracing a genuine signature

Blind forgery—made without a model of the signature (aka disguised writing)


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


Common Clues of Forgeries

Evidence of previous drawing, which can include an underlying tracing of the words or signature

Forger’s tremors, which are fine, distinguishable markings that indicate shakiness

Uneven writing speed and pen pressure Hesitations Unusual pen lifts, where the forger continually checks his

or her handiwork Patching and retouching, fixing or adding marks Blunt beginnings and endings.


Document Alterations

Obliterations—removal of writing by physical or chemical means can be detected by: Microscopic examination UV or infrared (IR) light Digital image processing

[Text that doesn’t suit the criminal’s needs may simply be erased using a rubber eraser, a knife point, or other sharp instrument, sandpaper, or fingernail – anything that scrapes or rubs away unwanted marks]


Indentations

Indentations can be detected by: Oblique lighting Electrostatic detection apparatus (ESDA)


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.


Ink

Chromatography is a method of physically separating the components of inks

Types HPLC—high-performance liquid

chromatography

TLC—thin-layer chromatography

Paper Chromatography


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.


Paper

Differences Raw material Weight Density Thickness Color Watermarks Age Fluorescence


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 starting 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