Division of Forensic Sciences

Questioned Documents Section

The Questioned Documents Section analyzes documents used in criminal activities such as forgeries, homicides, burglaries, and robberies. A document is defined as anything upon which a mark is made for the purpose of conveying a message. In addition to handwriting and signature analysis, the section examines typewriting and other mechanical impressions such as rubber stamps and check writers. Other types of examinations include photocopy source determinations, printing processes, and nondestructive ink and paper analysis. In general, this section examines and compares documents whose origin or authenticity is questioned. Services Provided:

• Comparison of signatures and other writings
• Mechanical impression comparisons (e.g., typewriters, check writers, rubber stamps and seals)
• Identification of photocopy machines
• Typewriter make and model determinations
• Nondestructive examination of inks
• Deciphering water soaked, charred, or burned documents
• Deciphering indented writing on anonymous letters and other documents
• Torn and cut paper edge comparisons
• Printing and other duplicating processes analysis
• Spray-painted graffiti comparisons

Forensic Document Examination should not be confused with graphology where handwriting is claimed to be an indication of the character and personality of an individual. Forensic Document Examiners analyze and compare handwriting to determine authorship of a particular document.

The signature on the check was confirmed to be a forgery when compared to the true signatures below. Notice the differences in the letters "H" and "t" in the forgery and the true signatures.
The Questioned Document Section was asked to determine if a suspect in a check writing scam made the signature at the top. When asked to write the questioned signature three times, the suspect attempted to disguise her handwriting. Based on several factors such as relative height of letters and connections between letters as in "u" to "d", the document examiner was able link the suspect's handwriting to the signature on the check.
The signature at right is an example of a traced forgery. The penmanship is uneven and shaky.
While document examiners rely on their trained eyes for the majority of their work, instruments are available to assist in providing a non-destructive examination of evidence.
The Infrared Electronic Converter (IEC), right, can distinguish inks from different sources, which is helpful in detecting altered documents. Inks that appear similar to the naked eye will react quite differently when viewed under the IEC. Using infrared, inks can glow, disappear, or appear unchanged depending upon its chemical properties.
The photo at left shows the results of an IEC examination of an altered check. The ink used to change the three to an eight disappeared when examined under the IEC.
The ElectroStatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA) is used to detect indented writing found on sheets of paper that were under a document at the time it was written.
A sheet of paper taken from a notepad in a bank robbery suspect's home was processed using the Electronic Detection Apparatus. The result shown on the left matches the writing on the note on the right, which was given to the bank teller.
The Projectina is a Swiss-made comparison projector used to compare machine impressions from typewriters, checkwriters, notary seals, etc. The Projectina can help determine if documents were produced by the same machine by superimposing one document, reflected in red light, over the other document, reflected in green light. When words or letters from the two documents are in precise alignment, the words or letters will be black, the combination of red and green.
On the left is an example of what is seen through the Projectina when two documents have been typed by the same typewriter. When the word "Toronto", which was contained in both documents, was superimposed by the Projectina, the result is a perfect alignment as indicated by the solid black color of each of the letters.
The same test determined that different machines typed the two documents superimposed on the left. Notice that the letter "K" is not solid black.

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