Page 10 - An Inky Lead Questioned Documents
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Forensic Document
Examination
hE forensic document examiner is with the identification of handwriting. Forensic
concerned with determining questions of document examiners have, through their collective
Torigin of a document or some portion of a experience and training, developed a number of
document. In most cases this means examining principles governing handwriting identification.
handwriting found on a page to determine the Although these principles are not quantifiable, they
author, while in others document examiners are working hypotheses that forensic document
determine which of a number of office machines examiners have found useful during their
produced a printout or photocopy, the relative investigations.
times different portions of the same document
were produced, or if sections of a document were No two people write exactly alike. This means that
altered after the initial document was created. if two writing samples written by two separate
With handwriting, document examiners focus on people are compared, then some character in the
“characters”, which are defined as the shape of any sample will differentiate one from the other. This
typed or handwritten mark, letter, or numeral. does not mean that an arbitrary character or set
of chosen characters will separate samples, but
Much of document examination is concerned some character will. Because of this principle,
10 THE MYSTERY OF LYLE AND LOUISE
