Document Forgery: Handwriting Analysis

Handwriting Analysis Used to establish whether or not forgery has been committed Forgery—illegal act of reproducing someone’s signature without his/her permission Most commonly found when people illegally sign another persons name on a check to steal money! Document examiners —expert in handwriting analysis

TYPEWRITERS ARE RARELY USED NOWADAYS! Handwriting Analysis Handwriting analysis is the most frequently requested type of document analysis because TYPEWRITERS ARE RARELY USED NOWADAYS!

Facts about Handwriting! No 2 people have the same handwriting!! As people mature they develop personal habits that contribute to unique characteristics in their handwriting! When a document is in question, the examiner obtains a standard from two sources: requested writing and collected writing. Collected writing comes from writing done before the investigation (cancelled checks or job applications) Requested writing is where an individual writes a dictated text using the same type of paper and ink used in the document in question.

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Line quality: Do the letters flow or are they written with very intent strokes?

Are the lines smooth or shaky? Original Forgery

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Spacing of words and letters: What is the average space between words and letters?

Is the spacing size consistent?

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Ratio of height, width, and size of letters: Are the letters consistent in height, width and size?

Are the letters consistent in shape & size? Original Forgery

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Lifting pen: Does the author lift his or her pen to stop writing a word and start a new word?

Are the pen lifts consistent? Original Forgery

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Connecting strokes: How are capital letters connected to lower case letters?

Compare how letters are linked. Original Forgery

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Strokes to begin and end: Where does the letter begin and end on a page?

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Strokes to begin and end: Where does the letter begin and end on a page? Original Forgery

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Unusual letter formation: Are any letters written with unusual slants or angles? Are some letters printed rather than written in cursive?

Unusual letters - letters written backwards, tails Original Forgery

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Pen Pressure: How much pen pressure is applied on upward and downward strokes?

Differences in shading = differences in pen pressure Original Forgery

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Slant: Do letters slant to the left or right? If slant is pronounced, a protractor may be used to determine the degree.

of the letters consistent? Original Forgery Is the slant or angle of the letters consistent?

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Baseline Habits: Does the author write on the line or does the writing go above or below the line?

Does the writing go below the line? Original Forgery There is a tendency for the top author (original) to write above the line while the forgery tends to be on the line.

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Fancy writing habits: Are there any unusual curls or loops unique styles?

Any fancy letters? Original Forgery

Unusual letters - letters written backwards, tails Original Forgery

12 Basic Characteristics for Comparing Handwriting Placement of diacritics: How does the author cross the “t”s or dot the “i”s?

Is the line on the “t” in proportion? Are the “i’s” dotted left or right? The i dot and t cross tend to the right of the letter Original The i dot is varied. The t cross is even. The form of the letter t is wider at the base. Forgery