AREAS OF QUESTIONED DOCUMENT EXAMINATION

Historically, QDE has been somewhat of an inclusive profession, even to the point
where so called pseudo- experts (in palmistry and fortune telling) were sometimes
welcome. Even today, QDE suffers from identity crisis in that at least eight (8)
different, or related, areas can be identified:

1. Questioned Document Examiners

A document examiner and is capable of more than just questions of authorship.

He is limited only by access to laboratory equipment.

2. Historical Dating

This entails the verification of age and worth of a document or object. It is

sometimes done by a document examiner, and get as complicated as Carbon- 14
dating

3. Fraud Investigators

Their work often overlaps with that of the document examiner, and focuses on the
money trail and criminal intent.

4. Paper and Ink Specialists

These are public or private experts who date, type, source, and/or catalogue
various types of paper, watermarks, ink, printing/copy/fax machines, computer
cartridges and the like, using chemical methods.

5. Forgery Specialists
 These are public or private experts who analyze altered, obliterated, changed, or
doctored documents and photos using infrared lighting, expensive spectrography
equipment, or digital enhancement techniques.

6. Handwriting Analysts

These are usually psychology experts who assess personality traits from
handwriting samples,:also called graphologists or graphoanalysts; Forensic stylistics
focus on semantics, spelling, word choice, syntax, and phraseology.

7. Typewriting Analysts

These are experts on the origin, make, and model used in typewritten material.

8. Computer Crime Investigators

This is an emerging group that relates to QDE through some common

investigative and testimonial procedures.
UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES OF HANDWRITING EXAMINATION

1. Like must be compared.

2. Determine whether the standards are sufficient or adequate.

3. Determine whether the dates of standards are proximate to the dates of the
questioned document.

4. Consider the conditions under which the questioned writing was executed.

5. Determine the writing instruments and paper used.

THEORY OF ANACHRONISM

An anachronism from the Greek “ava”, “against”, and “xpovoc”, “time”, is anything
that is temporally incongruous in the time period it was placed - that is, it seems
sufficiently out of place as to be peculiar, incomprehensible, or impossible.

EXAMPLE OF ANACHRONISMS
1. Printed Heading

The printed headings of government forms and letterheads change frequently as

new orders are placed.

2. Paper

The easiest way of identifying the date of manufacture of the paper is by the
watermark.

3. Writing Instruments

Matching of writing instrument in questioned document comparison is essential,

particularly in suspected modification through substitution of pages in a prepared
document, pages of which were signed in one time.

4. Typewriting

Nowadays, there are varieties of typewriting machines. The forger may have
failed to observe the characteristics feature of a particular machine when he attempted
to alter the dates or contents of the suspected questioned typewriting.

5. Erasures

The changing of documents by removing certain parts is very common. It is not

easy however, to do this with chemical inks. Some form of solution must be used
to remove the part. Examination by transmitted or ultraviolet light will usually
reveal thinner portions of paper in the altered areas.

If the investigators suspects chemical erasure, he should submit the document to

the laboratory. The laboratory has special chemicals and apparatus for detecting
erasures.
6. Opening and releasing of envelopes

A common form of theft is stealing checks and money from envelopes sent to
banks and business companies. The thief substitutes pieces of paper in place of
genuine checks and banknotes in order that the loss will not be quickly discovered.
The thief uses hot steam or a knife or scissors to do this.

In repairing the damage, he cannot conceal the signs, which are detectable by
magnification. The investigator should look for signs of excess glue that the thief used
to paste back the portion of the envelope he opened.