Handwriting analysis ASISTM Project Forensic Investigations

Characteristics Handwriting experts look at 12 characteristics of a person’s writing. They try and compare a sample of the suspect’s writing to a known original.

On first glance the forgery is quite a good copy. Original Forgery

Lets take a closer look!

Line quality Are the lines smooth or shaky? Original Forgery

Spacing - words and letters Is the spacing size consistent?

Ratio - height, width, size Original Forgery Are the letters consistent in shape & size?

Pen lifts and separation Are the pen lifts consistent? Original Forgery

Connecting strokes Compare how letters are linked. Original Forgery

Beginning and ending strokes Are the strokes straight, curled, long? Original Forgery

Unusual letter formation Unusual letters - letters written backwards, tails OriginalForgery

Shading or pen pressure Differences in shading = differences in pen pressure Original Forgery

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

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

Flourishes and embellishments Any fancy letters? Original Forgery

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

References Deslich, B & Funkhouser, J Forensic Science for High School. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, US Writing samples from J Dook & T. Hutchison, scanned into Adobe Photoshop at 400dpi. Graphic design for slides by T. Hutchison, DUIT Multimedia, UWA