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Forensic Document Test – Expert Overview

In this article, forensic document examiner, Mark Songer provides an overview of forensic document examination. Topics discussed include preparation and qualifications for forensic document examiners equally well as the various methods used to examination differing projects, such equally signatures, checks, computer and type generated documents, as well equally obliterated writing.

Forensic Document Examination

What is Forensic Document Examination?

Forensic Document Examination (FDE) is a forensic scientific discipline discipline in which good examiners evaluate documents disputed in the legal system. "Documents" may be defined broadly equally being whatever cloth begetting marks, signs or symbols intended to convey a message or meaning to someone. Questioned document examinations involve a comparing of the certificate, or aspects of the certificate, to a gear up of known standards (i.eastward., authentic specimens). The goal of the forensic document examiner is to systematically evaluate the attributes and characteristics of a document in order to reveal how information technology was prepared or how information technology may have been modified.

This commodity is an excerpt from Practical Applications in Forensic Science, authored past Marker Songer, published by Crime Ink Publishing, LLC.

Article Contents:

• Preparation and Qualifications of a Forensic Certificate Examiner
• Standards of Practice
• Handwriting Exam and Comparing
• Paper Examinations
• Writing and Printing Inks
• Typewritten and Auto-Printed Documents
• Seals and Stamps
• Indented Impressions
• Obliterations and Alterations
• Conclusion

Training and Qualifications of a Forensic Document Examiner

There are two internationally recognized programs that accredit forensic laboratories: The American Society of Criminal offence Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board and ASI-ASQ National Accreditation Board/FQS. These accrediting programs ensure that forensic laboratories encounter established quality standards, and employ expert forensic investigators. Forensic document examinations should be conducted by a Forensic Document Examiner (FDE or "Document Examiner"). Currently, no federal licensing exists for forensic certificate examiners; however, in the Usa, the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE) has established guidelines and issues a certificate of qualification. The ABFDE requires that examiners obtain a minimum of a baccalaureate degree and complete a two-year, full-time training program or apprenticeship in a recognized forensic laboratory or with an established examiner in individual practice. The National Association of Document Examiners (NADE) too was established in 1979 to promote the interests of document examiners. Peer grouping testing is as well available through the American Club of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE) and the Forensic Scientific discipline Gild (FSS). Although there are no specific college majors or degrees in forensic examination, scientific preparation is encouraged and standing education courses are required to remain in good standing with the aforementioned boards.

Standards of Practice

The American Lodge for Testing and Materials (ASTM) publishes standards for methods and procedures used by Forensic Document Examiners. ASTM International is a global leader in the development and delivery of voluntary consensus standards, to improve product quality, enhance health and safety, strengthen market place access and merchandise, and build consumer confidence. With respect to forensic standards, ASTM describes 4 components to Forensic Certificate Examination, indicating that an examiner "makes scientific examinations, comparisons, and analyses of documents in order to:

1. Institute genuineness or non-genuineness, or to expose forgery, or to reveal alterations, additions or deletions,
2. Identify or eliminate persons every bit the source of handwriting,
3. Place or eliminate the source of typewriting or other impression, marks, or relative evidence, and
4. Write reports or give testimony, when needed, to aid the users of the examiner'due south services in agreement the examiner'south findings.

The Scientific Working Group for Forensic Document Exam (SWGFDE) is some other arrangement that develops standards in the field of forensic document examination. SWGDOC began in 1997, and is composed of private examiners and forensic laboratories throughout the United States.

ACE-V Methodology

Although there is an element of subjectivity in the field of forensic document examination, investigators' findings reflect more than than mere stance. Examiners' findings should reflect their systematic compilation and evaluation of all of the observed physical facts, in light of the bones rules of identification and their own feel. The ACE-V methodology is one such way of organizing and evaluating information for the purposes of scientific classification and comparison.

ACE-V is an acronym for an established forensic methodology analogous to the scientific method, which is used to "individualize or exclude impressions or objects as having originated from an identical source or every bit being on in the aforementioned.i" A stands for analysis, or the process in which gathered information is analyzed for specificity and relevance; C represents the comparison stage, or the stage in which it is determined whether the examiner's predictions are valid, invalid, or inconclusive; and Eastward stands for evaluation, which relies on the examiner's training and experience to evaluate the information generated in the analysis and comparison stages of the ACE-V method. The terminal stage in the ACE-V methodology is verification, wherein a 2nd expert document examiner retests the original hypothesis using the ACE process in order to determine whether information technology is possible to formally individualize or exclude particular information sets used for comparison.

Handwriting Examination and Comparison

The examination of handwriting and signatures involves the comparing of writing on the document in question to boosted samples in order to make up one's mind potential authorship. The primary premise of handwriting identification is that no ii people write exactly alike, although natural variations occur within the handwriting of each private. Investigators are able to take into consideration a wide variety of private factors characteristic of an individual'southward handwriting, including alphabetic character structure and proportion, pen movement and position, writing speed, letter and give-and-take spacing, and the use of embellishments, punctuation, spelling, and grammar. It should be noted that handwriting identification or test is distinct from "handwriting analysis" (graphology), which attempts to predict grapheme traits from handwriting examination. The latter has yet to demonstrate valid and reliable results, whereas inquiry has demonstrated that expert forensic document examiners are significantly more able to accurately compare handwriting samples to determine authorship, equally compared to the layperson.

Handwriting samples may exist divided into ii types: requested writing specimens and nerveless writing specimens. Requested writing specimens are gathered from the writer under carefully controlled, monitored conditions, whereas nerveless writing specimens were completed by the writer prior to the investigation in the normal course of their daily activities. It is critical that the certificate examiner obtain multiple samples of an individual'south handwriting for comparing to any questioned document, as natural variations will e'er be present in a person's handwriting, fifty-fifty inside the same document. Individuals as well volition display minor variation in their signatures across documents, and then forensic standards indicate that investigators obtain twenty-thirty repetitions of signatures, 15-20 repetitions of banking concern checks, and three-4 repetitions of entire written documents for comparison purposes. When comparison handwriting from collected specimens, withal, it is of import to collect contemporaneous writing, or material that was written around the same time period as the document in question. This is particularly important for teenagers and the elderly, whose writing may evidence notable changes due to maturation, or distortions due to historic period or disease, respectively.

Signatures

Forensic examiners are often required to evaluate the actuality of an individual's signature, peculiarly in the instance of contested wills or other legal documents. As with whatsoever case involving handwriting examination, the questioned signature or signatures should be carefully compared with known samples of the individual's authentic signature. Information technology is encouraged that investigators collect twenty-30 repetitions of signatures, as each volition vary slightly, even in the example of collected writing specimens in which an individual is asked to write an entire folio of signatures. However, adept forensic examiners are trained to exist able to accurately discriminate betwixt natural variations in an private's handwriting and significant differences indicating different writers.

Disguised Handwriting

Disguised writing is distorted writing that is intended to mislead the reader or forensic examiner equally to authorship, and is often nowadays in questioned documents. Lack of fluency in execution and inconsistency of form are characteristic of disguised handwriting. For instance, forensic examiners may exist alerted to the possibility of attempts to disguise writing if the pen strokes stop at inappropriate locations or there is evidence of a tremor. Maintaining a style of handwriting different from ane's ain requires a great deal of attention, which also may issue in greater pen force per unit area and an bad-mannered pen position. Typical strategies employed when someone is attempting to disguise their handwriting include irresolute the gradient of the writing or lengthening the last strokes and adding curves or other embellishments. Frequently, writers attempting to disguise their handwriting will change from all uppercase to all lowercase. Writers may also write with their unaccustomed hand in order to disguise their handwriting, which usually results in a drastic reduction in skill level characterized by a loss of fluency and larger letters than when written with their ascendant paw. In cases where information technology is suspected that the questioned document may take been written with a person's unaccustomed hand, it is important that the forensic examiner obtain writing specimens written past the suspect's correct and left hand.

It is of import to annotation, however, that not all distortions in handwriting are the result of intentional disguise. Distorted writing may be caused by age, affliction, missed medication, drug or alcohol abuse, or writing position. Thus, it is of import that obtained writing specimens exist taken from around the time of the questioned document.

Simulated Writings and Tracing

False writing occurs when an individual attempts to copy the handwriting of another by making a freehanded cartoon of the writing or by tracing authentic writing. Both handwriting and signatures tin exist faux or traced; yet, the latter is more common.

An individual attempting free-handed simulation of writing strives for both accuracy of shape and proportion, and fluency of line; however, information technology is almost incommunicable to achieve both. In full general, people vary in their power to produce an effective freehand cartoon of writing or a signature. Signatures may be of especially poor quality if they must be reproduced in front of the person intended to receive or verify it (e.grand., signing a credit card receipt in front of a storekeeper). In natural writing, the writer is likely to take a strong fluency of line- meaning the pen will rarely, if always, leave the paper while writing a unmarried give-and-take or signature. In simulated writing, however, the pen may be lifted more frequently from the page, as information technology is easier to achieve an authentic shape and proportion with a shorter line. Thus, forensic document examiners may use magnification, ordinarily twenty-40X, to improve identify pen lifts and breaks, which is more often plant in simulated writing, as compared to natural writing. "Patching" is some other error that occurs more frequently in imitation writing. Patching occurs when the author notices an error made in their writing, such equally not fully closing a letter or omitting an embellishment characteristic of the original, and corrects these errors afterward writing the letter or word. These additions or alterations likewise may become visible under magnification. Some forgers also may choose to describe a signature upside down, in which case it may exist evident that the directionality of the line is incorrect.

Tracing a signature or handwriting tin exist achieved through a number of means, assuming the individual has access to an authentic sample of writing. Tracing paper may be placed over the genuine writing or a light box may be used to illuminate the underlying writing so that the overlying paper may be traced upon. Another way to trace writing is to identify carbon paper on meridian of the original document so that the pressure level of the pen will produce a carbon impression upon the lower document. Information technology is also possible to place the original on the document where the writing is required and to trace heavily so that impressions are left on the document beneath, which are and then inked. As compared to a freehand copy, tracing a signature often results in a very close approximation of the original; in fact, they may provide a more exact copy of a signature than would normally be found due to natural variations in handwriting. However, there will likely be prove of laborious production, such as signs of uneven pen pressure, pen lifts, and poor line quality.

Newspaper Examinations

Questioned document examiners frequently are called upon to analyze a single sail or multiple sheets of paper upon which there are markings, handwriting, printing, and/or graphics. Preliminary investigations of questioned paper documents involve testing the color, thickness, weight, weave blueprint, and fiber analysis in order to determine the source of the paper. Further testing may involve the test of ultraviolet characteristics and comparisons using instrumental analyses.

The color of a piece or pieces of paper may exist compared against a white standard or through a side-past-side comparing. It is recommended that, in addition to a visual inspection of the front and dorsum of the newspaper, the examiner apply a scalpel to examine the internal color of the paper, as this may vary through the process of printing. Thickness may exist measured by using paper calipers or micrometers, while weight may be measured by using a very sensitive scale. Forensic examiners besides evaluate paper documents for internal or surface weaves. Surface weaves are uncommon but are easily visualized with side lighting. Internal weaves are more than commonly found in paper and tin can be viewed with transmitted light. Finally, paper cobweb analysis is a destructive technique that allows examiners to identify the type and quantity of fibers involved as a result of the pulping process. For paper produced with wood fibers, a very small piece of the questioned certificate may exist cut away and disintegrated in h2o. For cotton wool cobweb-based paper, it may be necessary to use a weak acidic solution to disintegrate the paper into its private fibers.

Watermarks likewise may be useful to examiners equally a ways of identifying the type of paper, manufacturer, and appointment of production. Watermarks are frequently visualized merely by using transmitted low-cal or soft 10-rays, which produces an image of the density of fibers.

Writing and Printing Inks

Non-destructive examinations, such every bit visual, microscopic, ultraviolet, and infrared tests are usually the offset stride taken in an endeavour to place the form of ink used on a certificate. Further destructive testing may likewise be necessary to discriminate amid ink types. Liquid chromatography may exist conducted in order to determine the chemical composition of inks used in a document. Every bit one of the few subversive techniques employed by forensic investigators, a modest piece of the document containing the ink is cut away, dissolved in solvent and analyzed. The ink's composition can then be compared to the International Ink Library, a database of more than than ix,500 inks that is maintained by the U.S. Secret Service. Chemical tests are important in the test of printing inks because they too let examiners to provide an approximation of when the document was written. This may exist especially salient in the case of forgeries; for example, it may be discovered that the ink on a document is much too new for its purported age.

Document examiners are often called upon non only to place the type of ink involved in a questioned document, but also the source of the ink. Determining the origin of the ink on a document may be especially useful in helping examiners to detect fraudulent entries or alterations in a document. For example, a fraudulent entry in a will may be added with ink that is visually similar but chemically different from that of the residue of the document, indicating that it was not included at the time of its original writing. While differentiation among inks can be accomplished by visual examination, nondestructive, and chemical tests, positive identification of the specific source of the ink (i.e., the exact pen) is unlikely. More probably, the examiner will be able to trace the ink back to the specific type, class, and or brand of ink, and suggest that it is scientifically indistinguishable from the suspected source. Infrared or ultraviolet examination also may allow the examiner to differentiate between different types of ink.

Typewritten and Car-Printed Documents

Typewritten, printed, faxed, and photocopied documents are vulnerable to text alteration and augmentation, page substitution, and cutting and paste manipulation. The relatively poor quality of faxes and photocopies, in comparison to the original certificate, means that they may be particularly susceptible to manipulations or alterations for fraudulent purposes. Although structural characteristics are often still evident, subtle details, such equally hesitations, pen lifting, and retouching may not exist reproduced.

The showtime step that should be taken when investigating typewritten and automobile printed documents is to make up one's mind the blazon(southward) of printing technology involved in creating and printing the document. Adjacent, it should be established whether the questioned document is an original or a reproduction, and whether in that location were multiple printing methods involved in the creation of the certificate (east.g., a printed document that was then photocopied and/or faxed). Once these factors take been established, the investigator can plow his or her attention to an test of the typography, formatting, and copy baloney. Adobe Photoshop® or like software may be used to assess line orientation and spacing, which may be peculiarly useful in helping to identify anomalies or distortions in the text.

Whenever typewritten or automobile-produced documents are called into question, each folio of the document should exist carefully compared to all of the other pages of the document, and, whenever possible, compared to nerveless specimens from the source machine(s).

Typewriters

Although typewriters have largely fallen into disfavor with the appearance of the calculator historic period, forensic document examiners nevertheless may be called upon to investigate documents written on a typewriter. Whatsoever exam involving typewriting should include an evaluation of the grade of typewriter, horizontal spacing, typestyle and brand and model, and individual characteristics and defects.

Typewritten documents may be traced back to the typewriter on which they were written by means of the class characteristics of the machine (e.chiliad., manual/electrical, cloth ribbon/carbon moving-picture show ribbon, type design) and individual variations across machines due to wear and tear, damage or misuse. The TYPE classification arrangement is one tool in which investigators can classify the typestyle used in a typed document, which may lead to the identification of the brand and model of the source machine. Whenever possible, the forensic investigator should examine the particular machine(due south) suspected to accept been used in creating questioned documents in order to compare private characteristics.

Facsimile and Photocopy Machines

Questioned document examinations involving facsimile (fax) machines oft include questions effectually the actuality of a reproduced signature, concerns around whether information has been altered, added, or deleted from a document, or questions almost exactly when a fax was transmitted. Transmitted faxes are often printed at a relatively low resolution, compared to documents that are printed or photocopied. Equally a outcome, subtle details oft relied upon in the analysis of handwriting or typed writing may not be reproduced. Effective forensic document test may exist hampered if there is an insufficient quantity of questioned material or if the testify is of insufficient quality. Research has also found that faxes may undergo significant dimensional changes that tin can result in changes in size or even baloney, further complicating the investigation of transmitted questioned documents. Given the poor quality of faxes in full general, they are subject area to alteration, however, so careful scrutiny should be applied to any discrepancies in pixilation across the document, as well every bit any variations in handwriting or print blazon, spelling, punctuation or formatting.

Whatsoever forensic document examination involving a fax machine also should include consideration of the Transmit Terminal Identifier (TTI), which is typically found in the heading of any transmitted document. The TTI includes information such equally the sender'south proper name and fax number, the recipient'south fax number, and the date and time of transmission. This information may be invaluable to the investigator as a means of identifying the make and model of the source automobile and recipient car, and the date of manual. Even so, this information should be evaluated cautiously, every bit the TTI is programmable and therefore subject field to alteration by a sophisticated perpetrator. Some fax machines too allow the user to reprogram certain formatting characteristics, which may brand information technology more hard to accurately discern the make and model of the source machine.

Finally, as with whatsoever technology, fax machines are susceptible to manufacturing defects or defects acquired through overuse or abuse. These defects may occur in the source automobile, the recipient machine, or both, and must be differentiated from the dissonance that may occur during transmission. Therefore, when faxed documents are called into question, both the source and receiving fax machines should be entered as evidence, as well equally sample faxes from both fax machines transmitted around the date established by the TTI.

Computers and Printers

The increasingly ubiquitous apply of computers resulting in computer-generated documents has resulted in difficulties for the questioned document examiner. Computer-generated documents are extremely susceptible to alterations, such every bit text insertion, cutting and pasting, and page substitution. Therefore, questioned document examiners must consider the consistency of the overall certificate in order to wait for signs of tampering. For example, the examiner must decide whether multiple printers or other technologies were used in composing the document, in addition to investigating any other potential anomalies. When folio substitution is suspected, the appointment of writing or printing also should be evaluated, as chronological inconsistencies tin can be useful in discrediting questioned documents.

When faced with a computer-generated document, the investigator first attempts to allocate the printing process by identifying the printing technology. For case, the examiner determines whether the document was printed in color or blackness-and-white ink, whether the document was printed with ink or toner, and whether the printing procedure was touch or non-impact. Careful test of computer printouts may permit examiners to make up one's mind the type of printer utilized; it is possible that some gross mechanical deficiency unique to a particular printer reveals individualized defects that allow the printout to exist traced back to the specific car. All the same, in comparison to typewriters, it is rarely possible to link the questioned certificate back to the specific computer on which it was written.

In improver to determining the blazon of printer that created the questioned certificate, the typeface itself should be scrutinized. Font and line spacing should exist examined, equally discrepancies may be subtle but indicative of an alteration or addition to the original document. As with any questioned document, the forensic examiner also will examine the printout to determine the type of paper and class of ink utilized, likewise as taking careful note of watermarks, and staple pigsty patterns etc. These identifying characteristics do non always offer definitive proof that a document has been contradistinct or tampered with, but in some cases may evidence conclusively that a certificate is not authentic. For example, it may be the case that a folio is substituted in a volition that is printed on paper or with ink that was not available at the time of the original signing.

Seals and Stamps

Questioned documents may include markings from safety stamps, embossed seals, watermarks, or other mechanically-printed marks. Postage classification is based on the location of the ink source rather than the type of dice material and there are four master classifications of conventional stamps: the pre-inked postage stamp, the apartment-die postage stamp, the hand stamp, and the self-inking stamp. When examining seals and stamps, it is important that the forensic examiner first determine that the mark(s) were indeed acquired past a seal or stamp, as opposed to being calculator generated. Once this is accomplished, the examiner may turn his or her attention to the specific nature of the markings, specifically noting whatsoever defects that may exist unique to an individual stamp. These may be manufacturing defects, such every bit lacking dice material, distortion, or misalignment, or may be a event of use (e.g., accumulated ink, dirt, or fibers) or misuse. The preliminary visual inspection of a postage stamp impression is to examine it microscopically, during which time the examiner may exist able to identify a number of factors, including the ink source and condition of the ink dice.

Whenever possible, the examiner should effort to compare the questioned impression to the postage stamp that is suspected of making it. In order to do this, information technology is important to photograph the stamp before making boosted impressions so equally to preserve its original nature (e.g., ink saturation, clay, fibers). A large number of impressions should and so exist taken with the suspected stamp, taking care to vary the bending and pressure level with which the postage is practical, every bit it is unknown how the suspect practical the stamp. A side-by-side comparison can then be conducted with the questioned impression, and conclusions as to the source of the impression may exist fabricated.

Indented Impressions

Indented impressions occur when an imprint is left on the paper(s) underlying the one that was forcibly written or marked upon. Indented impressions may exist called into bear witness in legal cases in order to connect evidence; for example, tying a ransom note to a notepad found in the suspected kidnapper'south home. Documents that contain indented impressions non visible to the naked eye may be recovered through the use of an Electrostatic Detection Device (EDD) and oblique lighting photography. The most commonly used EDD is the electrostatic detection apparatus (ESDA), which uses an electrostatic charge and toner to visualize areas of indented writing that may have been left past erasures or pressure from writing on top of the document in question. This technique has resulted in the recovery of indented impressions on paper upwards to vii layers beneath the original writing, though findings may vary depending on pen pressure and paper thickness.

Obliterations and Alterations

Forensic certificate examiners are often chosen upon to determine whether questioned documents have been augmented or altered for fraudulent purposes. Documents may be altered by erasing or obscuring writing, or past changing, extending, or calculation text or signatures. Erasures are oft easily detected by visual examination, and even writing erased through a chemical solvent may leave stains that are visible under infrared (IR) light or luminescence, UV radiation, or oblique lighting. They may also result in roughened or disturbed paper fibers and impressions of the original writing, and ink written over erased areas tends to bleed slightly and spread.

Obliterations or overwriting—the blocking out of portions of writing using some opaque cloth—also may be used to obscure writing or other data on the questioned certificate. Although this is a adequately rough and obvious way to modify a certificate, information technology may fall to the forensic examiner to attempt to decipher what was obscured. It is sometimes possible to remove the obliterating cloth using an ordinary rubber eraser, chemical solvent or scraping off the overlying layer, although pains must be taken not to harm the underlying writing. The use of an IR imaging organization may be useful in helping examiners to differentiate the original writing from the roofing material as well. Markings not visible to the naked heart due to obliterations, erasures and alterations often can be recovered through the use of photography and other imaging techniques that utilize ultraviolet or infrared lite wavelengths. For example, an infrared low-cal filter, combined with other light sources, causes ink that has faded over the years to be enhanced and therefore legible. Imaging instruments such as a video spectral comparator (VSC) also can reveal writing that has been added to change or augment the original writing on questioned documents.

Adding new information that was non in the original document or substituting an entire folio likewise may perpetrate fraud. This tin be done with vary degrees of sophistication and success. It may be obvious that a line was inserted, for example, if information technology is crudely written in the margins or between lines of text. However, more sophisticated insertions or alterations require careful examination of the document equally a whole to place discrepancies. In add-on to noting uneven margins and crowding, the investigator should use a microscope to evaluate irregularities in the ink and paper, and any other potential anomalies throughout the document.

Conclusion

Questioned certificate exam is a forensic science discipline in which documents called into question in the legal system are evaluated by a trained examiner. Trained forensic document examiners systematically inspect questioned documents and compare aspects of the certificate to known standards in guild to identify the nature and source of the writing or press. This process typically culminates in the presentation of gathered prove at preliminary hearings, pretrial depositions, or in a courtroom.

Endnotes:

ane Craig Coppock, Universal Definition of ACE-V Updated, 6-nineteen-2012

Forensic Document Investigations

A one-time FBI Special Amanuensis who was also a Forensic Examiner inside the FBI'south Questioned Documents Unit spearheads our Questioned Document Test (QDE) practice. We are engaged in a broad range of QDE cases ranging from homicides to white collar crimes.

For more data contact Mark Songer.

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Mark Songer

Mark Songer D-ABFE, CFC
Forensic Document Examiner

Mark is a quondam FBI Special Agent and FBI Forensic Examiner, where he served as function of the FBI'due south ERT/RDT teams. Mr. Songer has instructed numerous law enforcement officers and civilian examiners in handwriting identification every bit well equally the collection of writing samples. He also developed and implemented Forensic Science & Criminal Justice programs at several institutions of higher learning, including the University of California and La Sierra University.

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