1. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
Chapter 15
Document and Handwriting Analysis
Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
Kendall/Hunt

2. Chapter 15
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 (handwriting, signatures); authentication (documents, determining age and ink) characterizing papers, pigments, and inks
Kendall/Hunt

3. Chapter 15
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 catalog 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 model
Computer crime investigators—investigate cybercrime
Kendall/Hunt

4. Chapter 15
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.
Kendall/Hunt

5. Paper is involved in most crimes: ransom notes, forged signatures, receipts. Document examiner’s tools include: the stereomicroscope, templates, protractors, grids, & other devices. different types of light sources may be used to detect forgeries, changes, and obliterations. Handwriting’s individuality makes this type of physical evidence one of the few definitive tools available.

6. Individual characteristics
Class characteristics
Typical of a group Common writing habits
Develop different nuances in our writing The way we write becomes embedded in our subconscious that it is quite difficult to disguise. Given enough evidence & exemplars a document expert may to able to present handwriting as individual evidence in court

7. Handwriting Handwriting analysis involves two phases:
Chapter 15
Handwriting
Handwriting analysis involves two phases:
The hardware—ink, paper, pens, pencils, typewriter,
printers
Visual examination of the writing
Kendall/Hunt

8. Analysis of Handwriting and Handprinting

9. Chapter 15
Handwriting Characteristics-a document examiner will generally examine 12 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
Kendall/Hunt

10. 1. Line Quality
2. Spacing of Words & Letters
Are the lines…. Smooth or Shaky Free-flowing or Nervous Rhythmic or Wavering
Examine the average amount of space b/twn words and letters. Is the spacing consistent in the known and questioned documents?

11. 3. Ratio of relative height, width, and size of letter
4. Pen lifts and separation
What are the overall height, width, and size of letters in both the known and questioned documents?
Check how the writer stops to form new letters and begin words. Forgeries may have pen lifts or separations in unusual places.

12. 6. Beginning & ending strokes
5. Connecting strokes
Compare how capital letters are connected to lowercase letters and how strokes connect between letter and between words
Compare how the writer begins and ends a word, number, or letter. Are the strokes… straight or curled long or short Made on the upstroke or the downstroke

13. 7. Unusual letter formation
8. Shading or pen pressure
Letters written backward Letters with a tail Unusual capitals
Individuals use different amounts of pressure with a pen or pencil. Makes the lines lighter or darker; narrower or wider Check for pressure on the downward and upwards strokes.

14. 9. Slant
10. Baseline habits
Does the writing slant to the right or left or is it straight up and down? Are some of the letters consistently slanted more or less than others?
Does the writing tend to follow a straight horizontal line, or move downward or upward? Is it above or below the baseline?

15. 11. Flourishes or embellishments 12. Placement of diacritics
Are there any fancy letters, curls, loops, circles, double loops, or underlines?
The crossing of t’s and the dotting of i’s and j’s.
Check the crossing of t’s and dotting of i’s, j’s, or any other letters or punctuation marks.
Is the cross on the t long in proportion to the stem?
Is it located to the left or right of the stem?
Are the i’s dotted above or to the right or left of the stem?

16. Handwriting Identification
Chapter 15
Handwriting Identification
Analysis of the known writing 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 (samples) to make a determination of whether or not the two samples match.
Kendall/Hunt

17. Chapter 15
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.
Kendall/Hunt

19. Forgery: item prepared with the intent to deceive or defraud
Chapter 15
Forgery: item prepared with the intent to deceive or defraud
Most common forgery is a signature.
Methods of Forgery
Blind forgery—one made without a model of the signature
Simulated forgery—one made by copying a genuine signature
Traced forgery—one made by tracing a genuine signature
Kendall/Hunt

20. Blind Forgery
one made without a model of the signature The forger doesn’t even try to copy the original signature. May not even know what the signature looks like. Investigators have the highest success rate in identifying this type of forger.

21. Simulated Forgery
One made by copying a genuine signature Often the forger practices the signature so much that they can avoid any hesitations and pen lifts usually seen in a forgery. Investigators can detect a simulated forgery by identifying the individual microscopic handwriting traits. The forger is often unable to duplicate all the victim’s individual handwriting traits This type of forgery can be very difficult to link to a suspect.

22. Traced forgery
One made by tracing a genuine signature Done by tracing a signature using a light box or similar device May use other methods such as carbon paper or even pressing hard over a genuine signature then tracing over the indentation. Stereomicroscopic examination can disclose this type of forgery because the line quality may be inconsistent. Sometimes oblique lighting will show off the indentation.

23. Types of Forgery Check fraud Credit cards Forgery
Chapter 15
Types of Forgery
Check fraud
Forgery
Counterfeit
Alterations
Paper money
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
Kendall/Hunt

25. Chapter 15
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
Indentations can be detected by:
Oblique lighting
Electrostatic detection apparatus (ESDA)
Kendall/Hunt

26. Famous Forgers and Forgeries
Chapter 15
Famous Forgers and 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)
Kendall/Hunt

27. Warm up:
Get ready (ie. pick up the notes, have something to write with and….please PUT AWAY YOUR ELECTRONIC DEVICES** by the time the bell rings) for notes.
**It is not part of my job to remind you of this, but it is part of my job to take your device from you if you can’t/won’t follow this request.

28. Individualizing Typing & Printing
-FBI maintains a library of makes & models of all manufactured typewriters and thousands of type fonts.
- Word processors and printers have largely replaced typewriters
-Still ways to trace and compare output.
-Color printers/photocopiers may add a pattern of miniscule yellow dots to the printout, encoding the printer’s serial number.

29. -Investigators can also sometimes compare copy machine output.
-Debris, gripper marks, platen defects, and dirt can all make “trash marks” on copies from a copier.
-These marks can change over time, so sometimes the material can even be dated.
-Look at your notes…are there any distinctive marks/patterns?

30. Paper
-Most modern paper is made from wood pulp.
-Some types of paper are manufactured mechanically, treated with chemicals, some have additives (ex. cotton fibers)
-Paper can be graded depending on the % of cotton fibers
-25-50% cotton is called bond paper.
-Mechanically produced wood pulp paper is used for newspaper.

31. -Special writing paper (stationery) is chemically treated with sodium sulfite
-Shopping bags are treated with a sulfate for extra strength
-Some manufacturers include their own watermark design (reduced # of fibers)
-The manufacturer can change the watermark and sometimes can use it to indicate when the paper was manufactured and even where the paper was sold.

32. Chapter 15
Forensic scientists may look at the following characteristics to identify paper:
Differences
Raw material
Color
Density
Watermarks
Dyes or bleaches
Fluorescence
Thickness
**Age
Kendall/Hunt

33. Finish Training Lab packet Start/Finish Rotation #1 (Front lab table and side counter stations 1-4) Start Rotation #2 (Back lab tables) Start on Review Sheet if done with all rotations!

34. Ink Types Investigators often compare inks by their composition.
Chapter 15
Ink
Investigators often compare inks by their composition.
Chromatography is a method of physically separating the components of inks.
Types
HPLC—high-performance
liquid chromatography
TLC—thin-layer chromatography
Paper chromatography—uses filter paper
(we will use this one in class)
-Secret Service maintains an ink library of about
8500 ink-standard TLC slides
-Secret Service and IRS maintain an ink library which includes chemical analysis of more than 9500 inks, dating from the 1920’s.
Kendall/Hunt

35. Example Paper Chromatography of Ink
Chapter 15
Example Paper Chromatography of Ink
Two samples of black ink from two different manufacturers have been characterized using paper chromatography.
Kendall/Hunt

36. Chapter 15
Document and Handwriting analysis
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.
Rf = distance from origin to spot
distance from origin to solvent front 18
Kendall/Hunt

37. Warm up [again]:
Get ready (ie. get out the notes from yesterday, have something to write with and….please PUT AWAY YOUR ELECTRONIC DEVICES** by the time the bell rings) for notes.
**It is not part of my job to remind you of this, but it is part of my job to take your device from you if you can’t/won’t follow this request.

38. Pencils “Lead” The material is graphite (a form of carbon)
Chapter 15
Pencils
“Lead” The material is graphite (a form of carbon)
Hardness scale—a traditional measure of the hardness ‘H’ of the “leads” in pencils. The 'B' stands for blackness, and HB is for hard and black pencils. The hardest is a 9H, followed by 8H, 7H, 6H, 5H, 4H, 3H, 2H, and H. F is the middle of the hardness scale; then comes HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, 6B, 7B, 8B, and 9B, which is the softest. Another grading method uses numbers; the equivalents would be #1=B, #2=HB, #2-1/2=F, #3=H, and #4=2H. The most commonly used writing pencil is the #2 (HB grade), which is fairly soft, contains more graphite, and leaves a dark mark.
Kendall/Hunt

40. Chapter 15
Forensic Linguist
Expert who looks 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.
Kendall/Hunt

41. Chapter 15
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.
Kendall/Hunt

42. Counterfeiting
-Counterfeiting money is one of the oldest crimes known.
-In 1865 the US Secret Service was established to suppress
counterfeiting.
-Although counterfeiting has substantially decreased since the creation of the Secret Service, this crime continues to be a potential danger to the nation’s economy and citizens.
-Production methods have evolved over the years from the
traditional method of offset printing to color copiers, scanners, computers, and inkjet printers.

43. -US currency has been changed over the past several years, beginning in 1996, to help thwart the efforts of counterfeiters
-Government has added new features to US bills to protect citizens and businesses from being victims of counterfeiters.
-Genuine currency paper has tiny red and blue fibers embedded
throughout
-Often counterfeiters try to fake the look of these fibers by printing tiny red and blue lines on their paper
-Close inspection reveal that on the counterfeit note that the lines are printed on the surface, not embedded in the paper.

44. Chapter 15
Counterfeiting
In 1996 the government starting adding new security features to our paper money due to the advanced copying technologies that have raised the incidence 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 Subtle background colors have been added along with other features to discourage counterfeiting.
-The fine border lines of a genuine note are clear and unbroken.
-On a counterfeit bill, the lines in the outer margin and scrollwork may be
blurred or indistinct.
-Genuine serial numbers have a distinctive style and are evenly spaced
-They are printed in the same ink color as the Treasury seal.
-On a counterfeit, the serial numbers may differ in color or shade of ink from the Treasury seal.
-The numbers may not be uniformly spaced or aligned.
Kendall/Hunt

45. -On a genuine bill, the sawtooth points of the Federal Reserve and Treasury seals are clear, distinct, and sharp.
-Counterfeit seals may have uneven, blunt, or broken sawtooth points.
-The genuine portrait appears lifelike and stand out distinctly from the background.
-Counterfeit portrait is usually lifeless and flat.
-Details merge into the background, which is often too dark or mottled.
-US currency is printed on cotton- and linen- fiber paper with no starch sizing, unlike commercial paper.
-Sizing: in paper manufacturing, starch or other filters added to fill gaps, improve writability, and stiffen the paper.

46. Cybercrime -Criminal activity committed on the Internet. 2 categories:
Chapter 15
Cybercrime
-Criminal activity committed on the Internet.
2 categories:
1) activity that involves using a computer to commit a crime
2) activity that has a computer as a target
-Computer intrusions: hacking, malware, virus, worm, Trojan horse
-Identity theft and Internet fraud: phishing, pharming, letter schemes, webjacking, bots, zombies, spoofed websites.
Computer intrusions Extortion & harassment
Identity theft Piracy
Transmission of illegal items Cyberterrorism
Kendall/Hunt

48. More about Document Analysis
Chapter 15
More about Document Analysis
For additional information about document and handwriting analysis, check out truTV’s Crime Library at:
Or learn about forgery cases at:
Kendall/Hunt