Handwriting Analysis

The History of Handwriting Analysis

     The only information about the history of handwriting, also known as graphology, before the 17^th century is the Chinese scholar’s prior knowledge for hundreds of years that the way a person wrote reveals a lot about a person’s character.  The first known published book on graphology was in 1622, written by Camillo Baldi who was an Italian doctor of medicine and philosophy. 

 

     The word “graphology” was invented by Jean Michon who was a Frenchman in the 1870s and wrote the first handwriting analysis book in 1872. Possibly the greatest advancement for graphology was near the end of the century when psychology became a profession. The United States is responsible for the most significant single breakthrough in graphology. The Handwriting Research Corporation (HRC) has successfully transformed the mass research of graphology into a practice with greater reliability and accuracy than the abilities of an individual graphologist. HRC’s research team was able to modernize an age-old “practice” into one of the most powerful personality assessment tools available today with assistance of Convergent Technologies 68020 Mighty Frame II.

The List of the 12 Characteristics

1.     Line quality. Are the pen marks smooth and free flowing or shaky and wavering?

     This can be connected to the speed that the document was written at.

2.     Spacing of words and letters. What is it the spacing between letters and words? Is it consistent?

3.     Ratio of the relative height, width and size of letters. What is the ratio? Is it consistent?

4.     Pen lifts and separations. Does the person stop to form new letters and begin words?

     Forgeries may have lifts in unusual places.

5.     Connecting strokes. Are capitals connected to lowercase letters and are there connecting strokes between letters and words?

6.     Beginning and ending strokes. Are these straight, curled, long or short, an upstroke or a downstroke?

7.     Unusual letter formation. Are there any unusually formed letters such as backward, letters with a tail, or unusual capitals?

8.     Shading or pen pressure. Is the pen pressure on the upward or the downward strokes?

9.     Slant. Is slant left or right or straight up and down? Is there consistency between the slant of letters.

10.  Baseline habits. Is the writing above or below a line?

11.  Flourishes and embellishments. Are their any? If so what are they?

12.  Diacritic placement. How are the t’s crossed?Take note of the dotting of i’s, j’s. For example

are the dots to the right or left of the letter?

Pictures and Analysis of Handwriting Analysis Template

     In my reflection on the handwriting activity, I feel my attempt of replicating my partner's writing free hand was rather unsuccessful due to my darker letters because I was applying extra pressure on the pencil while I was conducting the forgery. On the contrary, with the use of tracing, my writing in comparison to my partner's, increased slightly because the tracing technique allowed me to follow the intentions left by my partner.

Check Forgery Lab

     For the check forgery labeach person had to create a fake check. After the checks were made, each group traded with another group and were given the task to determine who forged the checks. By using the prior activity as a guide the identification process was successful.  Since each person had distinctive characteristics in their writing it became quite easy to identify the individual. Noticeable characteristics were identified, such as the way the person left their "q's", "y's" and "g's" endings shorter and didn't allow the "tails" of the letters to loop. The spacing and slant of the words were also evident and directed my group to the individual who conducted the forgery.

Famous Case
   
     Charles Lindbergh Jr. was the 20-month-old son of the famous aviator who was kidnapped on March 1, 1932 and although a ransom of $50,000 paid, Charles was never returned. In May his body was found just a few miles from home. From tracking the circulation of the bills used in the ransom payment, authorities were led to Bruno Hauptmann. Authorities discovered over $14,000 of the ransom money in his garage. Even though Hauptmann claimed the money belonged to a friend, handwriting analysts were able to match his writing to the ransom notes. Through additional forensic research there was a connection between the wood in Hauptmann’s attic and the wood used in the make-shift ladder the kidnappers built to reach the Lindbergh’s bedroom window. Hauptmann was convicted and executed in 1936.

Hair and Fiber Analysis

The History of Hair/ Fiber Analysis


     The mere idea of the scientific study of hair, trichology, was published in France in 1857. This study rapidly grew in the early 20th century after the examination of microscopic hair. The basis for hair analysis information was published in 1937 written by Professor John Glaister titled "Hairs of Mammalia for the Medico-legal Aspect". The groundwork for the use of hair evidence was published in 1977 written by John Hick titled "Microscopy of Hairs: A Practical Guide and Manual". The use of forensic hair analysis has played a major role in courts. In one case a piece of hair helped a convicted man, James Driskell, who sat in prison for 12 years become innocent. 

Labeled Parts of a Complete Hair

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Wool

The Major Types of Fibers

Synthetic fiber

     Fibers have two categories, natural and synthetic. Natural fibers are hair-like materials that are similar to pieces of thread that are able to be spun into thread or rope. A few examples of natural fibers are wool, cotton and linen. Synthetic fibers are created by forcing fiber forming materials through holes to form a thread. A few examples of synthetic fibers are polyester, acetate and nylon.




Techniques for Collecting Hair/Fiber

     The collection of fibers at a crime scene are based on the fiber's size. For instance, if the fiber was large investigators would pick the fiber up with their fingers and then place it inside a small envelope. When smaller fibers are present investigators will wrap the area, in paper if possible, and send the evidence to the lab for analysis.

How do Scientists Analyze and Use Hair/ Fiber Data

A forensic scientist collecting hair/fiber evidence

     The analysis of hair samples determine whether its an animal or human. Examination of human hair can help scientists determine the race, body area, the removal of the hair, alteration (bleached or dyed) and the damage done to the hair. Keep in mind that the hair sample cannot actually identify a person, just their characteristics.  Fiber samples allow scientists to identify whether the sample is animal (wool), vegetable (cotton), mineral (glass), and synthetic (manufactured). Once identified the fiber can be compared to fibers from the victim, a suspect's clothing, a vehicle's interior, the fabric in a carpet, etc.  

How Reliable is Hair/ Fiber Data in Crime Scenes?

     Even though hair and fiber evidence cannot be used to narrow down one suspect, the evidence can be extremely helpful in closing in on a group of suspects. Following the proper procedure to collect the evidence is essential since failure could drastically lower the chances of obtaining a suspect. 

     Collecting the hair from the same area of the body is important since the physical characteristics of hair vary depending on the parts of the body. If a forensic scientist were to compare two types of hair found on the body a match would be improbable. Also, when obtaining hair evidence, it is vital to collect the entire length of hair because a piece of hair can show variation in color or other physical characteristics. Head hair usually contains about 50 full-length hairs, which is approximately 24 full-length pubic hairs for a qualified sample. The length of hair below this will become very difficult or impossible to form connections with a suspect.

     Collecting fiber evidence can prove to be difficult since fibers commonly can’t be seen by the naked eye. Any piece of material that contains relevant fibers should be bagged separately in preferably paper bags. The preservation of any fibers is stressed by forensics because contamination is very probable. Contaminated fibers dramatically decrease the chances of finding critical evidence that may have been needed to solve a case.

 Famous Case

                    

    A serial killer named Ted Bundy was responsible for an estimated 30-plus deaths, but with a lack of physical evidence to link him to the claims when he was arrested in 1975. Two years later Bundy was accused of kidnapping and was prepared to stand trial for murder in Colorado. Unfortunately he escaped and headed to Florida where he killed 3 more people in early 1978. He was captured in February during the same year due to the physical evidence. The most evident evidence was the bite mark left on the butt of Lisa Levy which was matched with Bundy’s distinctive, crooked and chipped teeth. With conviction of another murder, 12-year-old Kimberly Leach, fibers were found in Bundy’s van that matched the young girl’s clothing. Ted Bundy was put to death in 1989. 

Hair/ Fiber Lab

     In this lab my group and I were given 10 hair/ fiber samples and was told to observe these samples beneath a microscope and record the samples' color, condition of the tip, any observable distinguishing features, and a drawing was required. While observing the samples we noticed that some of the darker haired samples seemed to have a violent tint to them. This was the result of rays of sunlight reflecting off the hair.
 

    

Forensics: Fingerprinting

What is Fingerprinting and When was it First Used in the United States?

     Fingerprinting is the science of taking a person's fingerprint in order to obtain personal identification. Forensic science has proven that the likelihood of two people having the same fingerprint is very slim. By finding a fingerprint at a crime scene it should allow scientists to narrow down on a suspect.

http://forensicpsych.umwblogs.org/research/criminal-justice/fingerprint-analysis/

     A man who went by the name of Gilbert Thompson who was a surveyor in New Mexico. In 1882 as a way to prevent forgery, placed his prints on a servey.

     The first use of fingerprinting in a criminal matter was obtained from prints obtained on a door post in 1892 by an Argentian Police Commondore named Juan Vucetich. 

http://onin.com/fp/fphistory.html

     After Congress permitted the F.B.I to establish an Identification Division in 1924 it became much easier to identify repeat criminals and missing individuals. Today, with the use of a computerized system the F.B.I  has a record of 34 million criminal fingerprints.

What Kinds of Fingerprints Are There?

There are 3 types of classified fingerprints: Patent, Plastic and Latent fingerprints.



Blood covered fingerprints are often
resembled as patent fingerprints



     Patent prints are visible prints seen with the naked eye that occur when a foreign substance on the skin of the finger comes in contact with the smooth surface of another object. The foreign substances contain dust particles which have collected on the ridges of the fingers, making these prints easily identifiable.

http://i.istockimg.com/file_thumbview_approve/5472104/2/stock-photo-5472104-fingerprints-and-glass.jpg



Plastic prints can be present on a
semi melted chocolate bar or on a
surface that has been freshly painted



     Plastic prints are visible, impressed prints that are form through the contact of a finger and a soft, malleable surface which result in an indentation.

taurusstudio.net

fingerprintanalyst.webs.com

     Latent prints are fingerprints formed from perspiration found in the sweat pores. When your fingers come in contact with body parts containing moisture, oil and grease they adhere to the ridges of the fingers and a film is created when your fingers come in contact with an object. Latent prints are the fingerprints used in this forensic project.

 Developing Prints on Different Surfaces & Lifting/ Collecting Prints 

csidarkmotives.uk.ubi.com

     With fingerprints on smooth surfaces the common way of making these prints visible is to dust with a powder that will stick to the fingerprint and create a contrast between the print and its background. Photographing the print or using lifting tape are two techiques used in collecting prints on smooth surfaces.

    

fotolibra.com

     Fingerprints on porous surfaces require a reaction with chemicals to appear because porous surfaces absorb the latent print causing dusting to become inefficient. Ways to reveal these prints is by making ninhydrin or diazafluorenone react to the amino acids in the fingerprint. The use of ninhydrin turns the amino acids either blue or purple making the print visible. Fingerprints that have reacted with diazafluorenone illuminate blue light, then they start to glow yellow. In order to collect the prints from the porous surface place the material in a plastic bag and then run the desired chemical tests on it. Make sure you are wearing  gloves while handling the evidence.    

Nonabsorbent material containing fingerprints should be processed and analyed in a lab as soon as possible because with excessive exposure to high temperature and humidity the fingerprints will being to disapear.

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     With the use of fingerprint powder, on a hard surface, prints with become visible and then will become removable with lifting table.

    

     

The Basic Shapes & Patterns of Fingerprints 

http://www.securityandsafetysupply.com/news/news36.htm

 Fingerprint Lifting Lab


     For the first part of the fingerprint lab I used corn starch to lift my latent print. In order to reconstruct this activity you must take your thumb, from either hand, and collect some of the moisture that is currently resting on your nose. Place your thumb on a darker surface, preferably black, and apply a fingerprint lifting technique with corn starch. Once the print is visible take a piece of tape, rotate it vertically and press lightly to collect the print. As you can see I was able to lift the print to the point of seeing the ridges of the thumb.

     

      The second part of this lab involved carbon/ graphite powder as another material to lift fingerprints with. The procedure for this activity is identical to the activity with corn starch. My test with the carbon/ graphite powder is slightly more difficult to read the prints because the powder has a greater particle size compared to the corn starch.