INTRODUCTION

TO
QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS

DARWIN P. BATAWANG, PH.D. CRIM

 Recall last topic
➢ Document
➢ Disputed vs. Standard
➢ QDE terminologies
➢ Classes of Questioned Document
➢ Logical progress of Inquiry (AAQ)& Scientific
method in QDE (ACEV)
 Todays Discussion
➢ Division of Questioned Document Examination
➢ Preliminary Examination of Documents, its
importance & Who conducts it
➢ Reasons of Utilizing QD Expert
➢ Care, Handling & Preservation of documents
➢ Terminologies
➢ Hand writing Identification and Examination
(forms, kinds, basis and characteristics)
 Division of Questioned Document
Examination
➢ Criminalistics Examination- Involves the detection of
forgery, erasure, alteration, or obliteration of documents
(contents). The criminalistics examination of documents
similar to other kinds of laboratory works.
Dr. Wilson Harrison- a noted British Examiner of QD
said that an intelligent police investigator can detect almost
75% of all forgeries by careful inspection of a document with
simple magnifiers and measuring tools.
➢ Hand Writing Investigation/Analysis- this is more focused
on determining the Author of writing. It is more difficult
procedure and requires long study and experience.
 ALBERT S. OSBORNE

➢ The father of Questioned Document

Examination
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF DOCUMENTS

– It is the initial examination conducted on

a document to determine whether it is
genuine or not. It is not misnomer, for in
reality it consists of painstaking analysis
more than looking at a document and
expressing an off-hand opinion.
 THE IMPORTANCE OF PRELIMINARY
EXAMINATION OF QUESTIONED DOCUMENT
 1. ensures preparedness
 2. avoidance of delay
 3. ensures success of the case
Who conducts the preliminary
examination?

It should be conducted by a questioned

document expert.
Who is a questioned document expert?

A questioned document expert is one who has:

1. Attained the appropriate education and training
2. Sufficient knowledge on the technical, scientific,
and legal aspects of document examinations
3. A broad experience in handling questioned
document cases.
REASONS FOR UTILIZING A QUESTIONED
DOCUMENT EXPERT
1. Assurance of preparedness
2. Trial fiscal or judges are infrequently
confronted with document cases; consequently,
they do not possess the knowledge of the
documents experts ability of the various methods
that exist for determining forgeries.
3. Avoidance of an off-hand opinion
What is an off-hand opinion?

A conclusion that is not based on

thorough scientific examination.
The danger of off-hand opinions

 It has happened in some cases that

an off-hand opinion has sent an innocent
man to prison, while a murderer was
given a chance to escape.
 CARE, HANDLING AND PRESERVATION OF
DOCUMENTS
 Seriouscurtailment of a certain technical
examinations is caused by improper or careless
handling of a disputed document. This condition most
frequently is brought about by ignorance of the
consequences of mishandling. The simple act of
repeatedly removing and replacing the letter in its
envelope can cause a noticeable determination.
DO’s and DON’Ts in the CARE HANDLING AND
PRESERVATION OF DOCUMENTS
 Do’s

1. Keep the documents unfolded in prospective

envelopes.
2. Take disputed papers to Document Examiner’s
Laboratory at the First Opportunity.
3. If storage is necessary, keep in dry place away
from excessive heat strong light.
 Don’ts
1. Do not handle disputed papers excessively or carry then
in pocket for a long time.
2. Do not marked disputed documents (either by consciously
writing instruments or dividers.
3. Do not mutilate or damage by repeated refolding,
creasing, cutting tearing or punching for filing purposes.
4. Do not allow anyone except qualified specialist to make
chemical or other tests; do not treat or dust for latent
fingerprints before consulting a document examiner.
 TERMS TO KNOW
✓ Handwriting
✓ Natural Writing
✓ Disguised Writing
✓ Wrong-Handed Writing
✓ Form / Writing style/formation
✓ Writing Impulse
✓ Shading
✓ Quality
 HANDWRITING- It is the result of a
very complicated series of acts being
used as a whole, combination of certain
forms of visible mental and muscular
habits acquired by long, continued
painstaking effort.
 NATURAL HANDWRITING- any writing
executed normally without any attempt
to control or alter its identifying habits
and its usual quality of execution.
 DISGUISED WRITING- a writer may
deliberately try to alter his usual writing
habits in hope of hiding his identity
(identity concealment), writing skill is
poorer, change in slant, size, altered of
capital letters.
 Wrong-Handed Writing - any writing executed
with the opposite hand that normally used; aka…as
“with the awkward hand” it is one means of
disguised thus, the writing of a right-handed
person, which has been executed with his left hand,
accounts for the common terminology for his class
of disguised as left-hand writing.
 Form - the writer’s chosen writing
style. The way the writing looks
whether it is a copybook, elaborated
simplified or printed.
 Writing Impulse - the result of pen
touching down on the paper and
moving across the page, until it is
raised from the paper.
 Shading - is the widening of the ink
strokes due to the added pressure of a
flexible pen point or to use of stab pen.
 Quality - a distinct or peculiar
character. Also; quality is used in
describing handwriting to refer to any
identifying factor that is related to the
writing movement itself.
 STROKE- series of lines of curves
written in a single letter.
- One of the lines of an alphabet or
series of lines or curves within a
single letter.
- The path traced by the pen on the
paper.
 STROKE STRUCTURE- is series of
lines or curves within the letters of the
alphabet.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

ARC- a curved formed inside

the top curve of loop, as in
small letters “h”,“m”, “n”

HUMP- upper portion of its

letter “m”,” n”, “h”,
The rounded outside of the top
hmn
of the bed stroke or curve in
small letter.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

ARCH- any arcade

form in the body of a
letter found in small
letters, which contain
arches.
bdp
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

ggS
ASCENDER- is the top portion of a
letter or upper loop.
DESCENDER- opposite of
ascender, the lower portion of a
letter.
LONG LETTER- those letters with
both upper and lower loops.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

BASELINE-
maybe actually
on a ruled
paper, it might
be imaginary
alignment of
writing.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

RBP
BEADED- preliminary
embellished initial
stroke which usually
occurs in capital
letters.

SPUR- a short initial

or terminal stroke.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

ah
BEARD- is the
rudimentary initial
up stroke of a
letter.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

e l
BLUNT- the beginning and ending
stroke of a letter. (Without
hesitation)
VS
KNOB- the extra deposit of ink in
the initial and terminal stroke due
to the slow withdrawal of the pen
from the paper (usually applicable
to fountain pen).
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

B O
BODY- the main portion of
the letter, minus the initial
of strokes. The terminal
strokes and the diacritic,
of any. Ex. The oval of the
letter “O” is the body,
minus the downward
stroke and the loop.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

a aa
BOWL- a fully
rounded oval or
circular form on a
letter complete into
“O”. It is otherwise
termed as OVAL
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

BUCKLE/BUCKLEKNOT- a
loop made as a flourished
which is added to the letters,
as in small letter “k” & “a”, or
in capital letters “A” “K” “P”.
- The horizontal end loop
BR K
stroke that are often
used to complete a letter.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

CACOGRAPHY-
bad writing
a
Cacography
CALLIGRAPHY- Calligraphy
the art of beautiful
writing.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

i t j
DIACRITIC- “t” crossing and
dots of the letter “i”, and “j”.
The matters of the Indian

f x
script are also known as
diacritic signs.
An element added to
complete a certain letter,
either a cross bar or a dot.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE

a r t
CHARACTERISTICS
ENDING/TERMINATE STROKE
OF TOE- the end stroke of a letter.

o
EYE/EYELET/EYELOOP- a small
loop or curved formed inside the
letters. This may occur inside the
oval of the letters “a” “d” “o”.
The small loop form by
stroke that extend in divergent
direction as in small letters.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS
foot
FOOT- the lower part

m n
which rest on the base
line. The small letter “m”
has three feet, and the
small letter “n” have two
feet.
baseline
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

HABITS- any repeated The uniqueness of your

elements or details, which may handwriting
serve to individualize writing.

HESITATION- the term applied

to the irregular thickening of ink
which is found when writing
slows down or stop while the
pen take a stock of the position
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

HIATUS/PEN JUMP- a gap

occurring between continuous
strokes without lifting the pen.
Such as occurrence usually.

PEN LIFT- an interruption in a

stroke caused by removing the
writing instrument from the
paper.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

HOOK- it is a minute curve or an ankle,

Art
which often occurs at the end of the
terminal strokes. It is also sometimes
occurs at the beginning of an initial
strokes. The terminal curves of the letters
“a”, ”d”, ”n”, “m”, ”p”, “u” is the hook. In
small letter “w” the initial curve is the hook.
The minute involuntary talon like
formation found at the commencement of
an initial up stroke or the end terminal
stroke
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE

darwin
CHARACTERISTICS

LIGATURE/CONNECTION- the
stroke that connects two stroke of
letter.
LOOP- an oblong curve such as

b l
found on the small letter “f”, “go”,
“l” and letter strokes “f” has two. A
loop may be blind or open. A blind
loop is usually the result of the ink
having filled the open space.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

MAJUSCLE- a capital
letter MAJUSCULE

MINUSCLE- a small
letter
minuscule
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

MOVEMENT IMPULSES-
this refer to the continuity
of stroke force writing is
usually produce by
disconnected and broken
movements more motion
or movement impulses
than genuine writing.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

PATCHING- retouching or

Art
going back over a
defective portion of a
written stroke. Careful
patching is common
defect on forgeries.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

d t
RETRACE/RETRACING- any part of a
stroke, which is super, imposed upon the
original stroke. Ex. Vertical strokes off the
letter “d”, “t” while coming downward from
the top bottom will have a retracing
stroke.
- Any stroke, which goes back over
another writing stroke. In natural
handwriting there may instances in Blunt(beginning and ending)
which the pen doubled back over
the course.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

mnh
SHOULDER- outside
portion of the top curve
small letter “m” has
three shoulders and
the small letter “n” has
two, the small letter “h”
has one shoulder.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

b g
STAFF- any major long
downward stroke of a letter that
is long downward stroke of the
letter. “b”, “g”
STEM OR SHANK- the upright
long downward strokes that is T
the trunk or stalk, normally seen
in capital letters.
 TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING STROKE
CHARACTERISTICS

TICK/HITCH- any short

stroke, which usually
occurs at the top of the
j
letters.
TREMOR- a writing
weakness portrayed by darwin
irregular shaky strokes is
described as writing
tremor.
To be continued….