Features of handwriting can provide the necessary information about their master, if you can connect them not only with psychological characteristics, but also with physical characteristics. This property of the manuscript is actively used by investigators and detectives to analyze written paper evidence.
Private signs of handwriting in forensics sometimes become crucial in practice, although the method of comparing handwriting and character is called into question in most cases, because the letters can be diluted with calligraphic norms or deliberately stylized. In addition, writing in a hurry can radically differ from writing in favorable conditions. For more reliable and informative research, there is a whole section in the criminal environment - handwriting. It takes into account all sorts of nuances and gives the most objective assessment of the subject under study, without delving into his psyche and inner world.
Handwriting Options
In forensics, the classification of handwriting attributes is based on 12 characteristics.
- Line quality - contours and density of letters. Some of them may smear, change slope or thickness.
- Interval is the distance between letters. They can be written in heaps, evenly, not connected. This is not about the gaps between the letters, but in them themselves.
- Height, width and size are proportions of handwriting.
- Connections. Are they characteristic between letters and punctuation marks, where they are absent.
- Connecting strokes are the relationship between uppercase and lowercase letters.
- Start and end strokes. How does the author begin and end words, hooked, with or without lift?
- Uniqueness - any features. The writer may have the habit of decorating handwriting with extra curls and dashes that the average person does not use.
- Handle pressure. This gives an idea of ​​where the author presses the paper harder - on the ups or downs.
- Slope and its intensity. It may remain flat, but a slight incline to the right is more common.
- The position of the text is the place where the letters are concentrated relative to the lines. They may be located exactly on them or not touch.
- Jewelry. These are big loops and curls. Usually they are used in lowercase letters of greeting cards: "K", "N", "D".
- Punctuation - the features of the location of points, commas, dashes, and more.
The concept of handwriting attributes implies all of these parameters. They make the style of the author different from the rest, which makes it possible for comparative examinations and analyzes.
When examination is needed
Signs of handwriting become a clue in some crimes. For example, in cases of kidnapping for ransom, if the kidnappers for some reason leave a paper note and do not use more modern means of transmitting information.
Manuscript analysis can be useful to verify the accuracy of a suicide note. Perhaps the man was subsequently killed and wrote farewell words about suicide at gunpoint. This can be evidenced by slight touches and any deviations from the usual way of writing.
Falsification of documents is one of the most common phenomena in the criminal world. Sometimes the originality of literary works, hand-written, works of art associated with the text, is called into question. Fake may be the signature of the artist on an expensive canvas.
In more perverse crimes, for example, when a maniac scratches words on the victim’s body, handwriting can give investigators a chance to convict the killer.
In such cases, general and particular signs of handwriting are the key to investigating a crime.
Judicial Handwriting
When there is a suspect in a crime, and the proof is a handwritten note, investigators turn to handwriting specialists for help. In some cases, the handwriting of the accused and the text on the evidence coincide. However, there are cases when in this way the offender wanted to blame an innocent person. How is the examination carried out?
In the world of forensic medicine, reliable technologies have long been used: DNA testing, fiber analysis, fingerprints, voice identification and drug detection. Among them is the verification of handwritten materials. This is a methodological process based on extensive knowledge of how people write letters and unconsciously leave clues.
Graphology
Along with this recognized method, graphology exists - a less effective science around which disputes unfold. It implies the interconnection of personal qualities with the manuscript. In general, graphological experiments are designated as meaningless and intuitive, since a definite connection between the general features of handwriting and the medium has not been proved. Unlike graphology, handwriting is essential for forensics. Using it you can:
- Identify the author of the manuscripts.
- Compare one paper with another and state whether one person wrote it.
- Identify the authenticity of the signature and verify authorship.
- Draw conclusions about the place and conditions of writing.
Factors
The forensic examination of the manuscript takes into account the following signs of handwriting:
- Individuality.
- Stability.
- Variability (depends on external influences).
The primary basis for handwriting analysis is that each person has a unique way of writing. As a child, everyone learned to follow the rules of calligraphy and shaped their own style accordingly. Over time, a person has individual characteristics, so most of us do not write as we once studied.
Text uniqueness
The process of analyzing handwriting when comparing two documents (one written by a famous author and the other by an unknown one) does not begin by checking the similarities, but by checking the differences.
You need to carefully look for key differences in sufficiently individual characteristics to expose possible attempts to disguise your handwriting or copy someone else's. Naturally, the author himself can violate his style in some cases, so it is important not to confuse the real fake with an accidental coincidence. Although each person’s handwriting is unique, no one writes absolutely identically twice.
Sample Analysis
This is a long, laborious and thorough process that takes a lot of time. Under ideal conditions, there are many samples for comparison, each of which needs to be examined in detail. The purpose of the check is to look at the two manuscripts and say: "They both have a" C "with a similar pointed tail, so the author is one." There are currently strict rules regarding how to examine an instance. What are some of the private attributes of an analyst’s handwriting?
| Letter form | It takes into account the curves, slopes, proportions and size of the letters (the ratio between the height of lowercase and capital letters, between the height and width of one letter), the slope of the letter, the use and appearance of the connecting lines between the letters. It is worth noting that a person can write in different ways, depending on where the letter is in the word. Therefore, the analyst must pay attention to the example of each letter in every place. |
| Line shape | Includes thin and clear lines. They indicate the speed and pressure the author writes. |
| Format | It implies the distance between letters, the distance between words, the placement of words relative to lines and fields. Also, the distance between the lines, the intersection of strokes in words at different levels. |
Copy
In the general method of analysis, the process begins with the first letter of the first word. The letters are written in the table for visual comparison (in the presence of a digital camera and equipment, this process is much simpler). The larger the text, the less likely it is to confuse randomness with intentional copying. Simulation is one of the most important and common problems in handwriting. Although it can be calculated due to unnatural trembling lines, uneven pressure, signs of caution and slowness, it is very difficult to examine.
Legendary fake
One of the famous examples of handwriting falsification, which was missed by experts, is the case of Hitler's "lost" diaries.
In 1980, a man named Konrad Kuyau (a supposed collector of Nazi memorabilia) offered the German publisher 60 manuscripts, supposedly written by Adolf Hitler. The texts seemed authentic, and Kuyau had a good reputation, so the publishing company paid him $ 2.3 million. The diaries were immediately published, and their rights sold to several international publications, including The London Times. It was The Times that requested professional handwriting analysis to ensure authenticity. Three world professionals confirmed Hitler's authorship by analyzing the ink and paper commonly used by scammers, and by comparing it with the original manuscripts.
A later UV study showed that the paper contained an ingredient that was not used until 1954 (Hitler died in 1945). Kuyau turned out to be an experienced artist who forged letters and “original” samples, which the police used as comparative examples of particular signs of Hitler’s handwriting.
Perhaps the publication was a deliberate move, and not a puncture at all.
Difficulties
The accuracy of the examination of the signs of handwriting is affected not only by simulation, but also by other factors:
- It is not possible to clearly compare uppercase and lowercase letters.
- Drugs or illnesses can significantly change a person’s handwriting.
- The quality of the samples determines the quality of the comparison. Bad examples make work difficult.
The most significant drawback of handwriting is subjectivity. Its acceptance by the scientific community as evidence has historically been precarious. But the modern addition of computerized handwriting analysis systems to the process accelerates the development of this branch of science and forensics. Signs of handwriting are becoming easier to distinguish. Therefore, it is now much easier to recognize where the original manuscript or signature is, and where is the fake.