Forensic Examination Of Alteration Flashcards
- Any changes which give the document a different effect from that which is originally possessed is termed as alteration.
ALTERATION
means an act purposely done an instrument by a party thereto or one beneficially interested therein which effects a change in the sense or language of the instrument.
ALTERATION
It is distinguished from the spoliation of an instrument which is a change made accidentally or unintentionally, or by one having no beneficially in the instrument. Spoliation does not invalidate the instrument or change of rights and liabilities of the parties
ALTERATION
Kinds of Alteration
- Interlineations
- Superimposition
- Cancellation
- Erasures
- Is the process of writing over text with the intention of hiding or destroying the original information. To obliterate means to blot out so as not be readily or clearly readable.
OBLITERATION
may be either intentional or unintentional. Writing may be intentionally obliterated to render them indecipherable by covering or obscuring with marking, overwriting, blots of ink or rubbing with pencil or carbon paper etc.
Obliteration
- Documents may be altered in an attempt to hide the original meaning or contents of a document. This is most commonly done by erasing individual words, phrases, letters, or numbers.
ERASURE
- Physical removal of writing, impressions or parts thereof may be accomplished by the abrasion of the surface of paper with the help of rubber erasure or sharp instruments such as razor, blades, scalper, knife, etc.
Physical/Mechanical Erasures
-Are those in which some chemicals are used to erase part of the document The chemical applications are usually strong oxidizing agents that conceal the ink by changing the properties of the colored substance. These may include acids or alkali as oxalic acid, potassium permanganate, etc
Chemical Erasures
- these are impressions of the original made in the next sheet of paper in a pad.
INDENTED WRITING
-rubbing off with rubber eraser or scraping off with sharp instrument.
Mechanical
- using ink eradicator or other bleaching solutions
B. Chemical
-words/figures
- Addition
on pages
- Substitution
- between lines
- Interlineations or intercalation
- on pages
- Superimpositions
-masking, smeared-overwriting with black or opaque materials
- Obliteration
to remove by cutting out or stamping lines across written matter to signify its omission.
- Cancellation
-the fraudulent reproduction of currency, whether coins or notes. Counterfeiters mostly target paper currency or notes because of their higher denomination currency
COUNTERFEITING
- a hand operated character printer for printing written messages one character at a time. It can be either mechanical or electromechanical.
TYPEWRITER
Identification of typewriting is done primarily to determine the make and/or model of the typewriter used to produce a document, or whether or not particular suspects typewriter might have been used to produce a document.
TYPEWRITING IDENTIFICATION
- a type of typewriter that can type 12 characters to an inch and 102 characters on one whole sheet of paper
Elite
- has big prints and can type ten characters to an inch n inch and 85 characters on sheet of paper
- Pica
any abnormally or maladjustment in a typewriter which is reflected in its work and lead to its individualization or identification
defects
- occurs as typewriter individualities when a character defectively strikes to the right or left of its normal allotted striking position.
- Horizontal Mal-Alignment
-the condition of typeface printing heavier in one side or comer than over the remainder to its outline.
- Off its Feet
- any identifying characteristics of a typewriter which cannot be corrected by simply cleaning typeface or replacing the ribbon is classed as a permanent defect. This term is not absolutely accurate since all defects in typewriters undergo modification and change in time.
- Permanent Defect
- the cylinder which serves as the bucking of the paper which absorbs the blow from the typeface
- Platen
- modern form of typewriting which resembles printing in that all of the letters, numerals and symbols do not occupy the same horizontal space as the conventional typewriter.
- Proportional Spacing Typewriter
a defect in which a character prints a double impress on with the lighter one slightly off act to the right or left.
- Rebound
-made of fine cotton fibers, numbered according to the quality or grade, which may vary from 260 to 272 threads to the square inch and from about 0005 to 0006 inch in thickness.
- Ribbon
- typewriting which is made directly through a cloth ribbon
- Ribbon Impression
a type of font which has no cross-strokes (serif); san means “without”
- San-serif-
font has short cross-strokes that project from the top and bottom of the man stroke of a letter
- Serif
- an identifying typewriter characteristic which can be eliminated by cleaning the machine or replacing the ribbon is described as a transitory defect. A clogged typeface against the ribbon and paper makes the typewritten impression.
- Transitory Defects
- the real clincher of most typewriting identifications, which include broken serifs, scarification, flattened and damaged portions of typeface.
- Typeface Defects
- the real clincher of most typewriting identifications, which include broken serifs, scarification, flattened and damaged portions of typeface.
- Typeface Defects
- each letter and character is designed to print at a certain fixed angle to the baseline. Due to wear and damage to the type block. Some letters become twisted so that they lean to the right or left of their correct slant.
- Twisted Letter
- a character printing above or below its proper position.
- Vertical Mal-alignment
- those threads that run horizontally toward the length of the ribbon
- Warp
-threads that run vertically or cross-over the warp form the “woof or filling of the ribbon
- Woof
-stereoscopic examination in low and high power objectives is used to detect retouching, patching and unnatural pen lifts in signature analysis.
- Microscopic Examination
documents are subjected to this type of examination to determine the presence of erasures, matching of serration and some other types of alteration.
- Transmitted Light Examination -
- documents are subjected to this type of examination for the decipherment of faded handwriting, determination of outlines in traced forgery and embossed impression.
- Oblique Light Examination
-this type of examination is essential in every document examination. Actual observation are recorded in the photograph.
- Photographic Examination
- this type is done in the darkroom after the lamp has been warmed up in order to allow maximum output from the ultraviolet light. Exposure to the ultraviolet light should be at the minimum duration in order to prevent the writing ink and the typewriter ribbon from fading
- Ultraviolet Examination
- the electrostatic detection apparatus (ESDA) detects intended writings and records transparencies of any indention.
- Electrostatic Detection
- this is used in the examination of masked or obliterated text, watermarks, visible fluorescence, paper fluorescence and obliques illumination of indented writing and embossing. It detects variation if the infrared characteristics of inks and reveals alterations by eliminating interfering background luminescence.
- Video Spectral Comparator (VSC)
after the document examiner has completed his examination and the laboratory report has been submitted, he prepares the photographic exhibits fro court demonstration and illustration
- Preparation of Court Exhibits
A microscope is an optical instrument that consists of a combination of lenses that allows the user to view a magnified image of a small object.
Optical Aids
is the simplest microscope, Light from the object is bent, or refracted, as it passes through the curved lens and into the eye, where it forms a magnified virtual image. The lens is usually mounted in a frame with a handle Their magnification limit is about five to ten times the true size of the object.
magnifying glass or hand lens
is an instrument for blending into one image two pictures of an object from slightly different points of view so as to produce upon the eye the impression of relief and solidity and a three-dimensional viewing
A stereo or stereoscopic microscope
Rulers, gauges, grids and other accurate measuring devices are important for document examiners to obtain precise measurements
Measuring Devices
is used to detect any abnormal horizontal or vertical alignment of typewritten characters.
typewriting test plate
measures angles and is also called a handwriting slope instrument. Other test plates include the letter slant or handwriting comparison test plate and the type angle measurement.
protractor
Forensic document examiners need camera equipment for clear close-up photographs of original documents. These photographs are useful in studying documents in place of the original and in enabling a jury to see the characteristics of writing and the reasons for conclusions more clearly than by looking at the original documents.
- Duplicating Devices
In addition to daylight, various types and intensity of lighting fixtures is crucial for critical examinations in a document laboratory. Different types of lights can reveal subtle details essential for revealing flaws and stains on documents.
- Proper Lighting
is light that is passed through a transparent or translucent medium. It is used in the examination of documents to determine the presence of erasures, matching of serration, and some other types of alteration.
- Specialized Equipment
Forensic document examiners use additional equipment based on specialized needs and interests crucial to solving certain cases.
Transmitted light
Forensic document examiners use additional equipment based on specialized needs and interests crucial to solving certain cases.
- Specialized Equipment
is a device for comparing a measurable property or thing with a reference or standard.
comparator
consists of a camera, a video monitor, various light sources and filters for exciting radiation and reflected or fluorescent light, an image integrator and comparator, and a video recorder.
video spectral comparator
is used to detect indented impressions left from writing on an overlying page.
Electrostatic Detection Apparatus or ESDA
provides the document examiner with a non- destructive technique for detecting impressions in paper that are invisible to the naked eye. It can also reveal the relative sequence of entries in ledgers, journals or medical records.
ESDA
Document examiners also need portable equipment such as a transportable microscope or the portable VSC-4CX because some documents cannot be released for examination and must be examined at their location
Portable Equipment
Forensic document examiners also use protective equipment like cotton gloves to handle original documents in cases in which fingerprints may be an issue. A fireproof safe or file box is also useful to store and protect original documents from harm.
Protective Equipment
, the father of questioned documents, highlights the value of reproducing questioned documents because it provides unlimited opportunity for study, comparison and investigation by any number of examiners, which would not be possible by using the original document alone
Albert Osborn
