Unit 6: Document Analysis

Class 1: Document analysis

notes/ threatening letter
activity
Class 2: FBI and Anthrax
letters/ Research a Famous
Case
Document Examiner
The work of a document examiner generally
involves probing different aspects of a
"questioned document" that will reveal its
originating source. Examiners need to be
proficient in microscopy, photography,
chromatography, and methods of document
alteration.
The usual types of documents submitted to
analysis include letters, ransom notes, altered
records, forgeries, and disputed legal documents.
Among the approaches to the analysis of
questioned or forged documents are:
– Handwriting/typing analysis (including indented writings
on a pad of paper)
– Attributional evidence through linguistic analysis
– "Thought prints" - decoding subconscious messages
– Materials analysis
A document Examiner may be asked to:
Determine whether a document is authentic
Determine whether a document was produced by
the person who supposedly produced it
Determine whether a document was produced
when it supposed to have been was produced
Assess whether a document has been altered in
any way
Compare handwriting, signatures, and typewritten
or photocopied documents
Determine the ages and sources of papers and
inks
Exposed damaged or obliterated writing
Obtaining Standards:
A handwriting examiner needs several writing samples
(standards) to get a feel for a writer’s style
Non-requested standards – samples that already exist
– Adv. Reveal true writing habits
– Dis. Must be authenticated (directly linked to suspect), and close
to the same time period the crime took place
Requested standards – suspect provides written
samples using similar writing tools on similar paper
– Adv. Authentic – sample provided is supervised
– Dis. Suspect nervous- concentrates too much on how they are
writing; disguises writing
Comparing Handwriting:
An examiner looks for points of similarity and points of difference between the
samples provided by a suspect and the questioned document.
He/She will asses the following features:
– Overall Form: The size, shape, slant, proportion, and the beginning and ending
strokes of the letters are part of the writer’s overall form
– Line Features: Writing speed, fluidity, and the amount of pen pressure used provide
hints about line features, and so do the spacing between letters and words and how
the letters are connected
– Margins and format: the width of the margins, the consistency of the spacing, and
the slant between lines fit into this category, which covers the overall form and layout
of the writing.
– Content: grammar, punctuation, and word choice help point the examiner toward
consistent errors, repeated phrases, and other clues that hint at the writer’s ethnicity
or level of education.
Examiners will look for all of these features (no single feature makes an accurate
comparison)
Based on findings, the document examiner will then say that the documents are:
– Absolute match
– A match with a high probability
– Probably match
– Do not match
Distinguishing Papers and Inks
Paper:
– Most paper is made of wood and cotton and often has chemical
additives that affect its opacity, color, brightness, strength, and
durability:
– Coatings improve the appearance and surface properties of the
paper and may even make the paper better for copiers, printers, or
for writing.
– Fillers add color, strength, and surface texture.
– Sizings make the surface less porous to ink, so that writing and
printing appear sharp and clear
– The types and amounts of each of these additives vary among
manufacturers and paper types, and chemical testing can
distinguish one type and manufacturer from another.
Ink:
Inks that appear the same, physically, may be much different, chemically.
This distinction helps the examiner determine whether the same ink was
used for each page or word of a document and may even help reveal
whether a particular ink existed at the time the document supposedly was
prepared.
Two Procedures commonly used include:
1. Microspectrophotometry- This process enables the examiner to accurately
determine whether the colors of the two inks match by comparing their light
transmission, absorption, and reflection characteristics.
2. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) – procedure includes:
– 1. Very small samples of the inked paper are punched from the mitten links using
a thin hollow needle.
– 2. The tiny pieces of paper are placed in a test tube, and a solvent that dissolves
the ink is added.
– 3. A drop of the solvent solution, which now carries the ink, is placed on a paper
strip along with drops of several known control inks.
– 4. The strip is dried and then dipped into another solvent that migrates up the
paper strip, dragging the Inks along with it.
The distances that all of the inks migrate along the strip are determined by
the respective sizes of their molecules. This process separates the inks into
bands. Whenever inks from two pages of a questioned document are tested
and they yield different bands, the writing on the two pages was done with
two distinctly different inks.
Analyze Your Handwriting:
Write your full name:

Write your friend’s name:

Compare the two and see the differences!