Questioned document examination (QDE)
Questioned Document Examination (QDE) is a forensic discipline focused on analyzing documents to ascertain their origin and authenticity. This process encompasses a wide variety of written materials, including contracts, handwritten letters, and even informal writings like graffiti. Forensic document examiners play a crucial role in legal contexts, particularly in cases involving fraud, forgery, and threats, providing valuable insights that assist in judicial processes. The examination techniques may include handwriting analysis, ink and paper identification, and scrutiny of document alterations, such as erasures or additions.
Examiners often compare questioned documents to known samples, which aids in establishing links between the items and their sources. This can help determine whether a signature is genuine or if documents share a common origin, which is particularly useful in investigations involving suspects. Advanced tools like microscopes, scanners, and chemical testing are employed to analyze the physical and chemical characteristics of the documents, which can reveal critical information about the creation and history of the materials. Overall, QDE is an integral part of forensic science that enhances the understanding of document-related evidence in legal matters.
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Questioned document examination (QDE)
DEFINITION: Examination of documents to determine their origins or establish their authenticity.
SIGNIFICANCE: Questioned document analysis has a broad scope, given that it can involve any item containing writing or symbols to convey meaning (such as a handwritten letter, a contract, or even graffiti on a lavatory wall). Forensic document examiners play important roles in the analysis of evidence in cases of fraud, forgery, counterfeiting, threats, and many other offenses.
The need for forensic document examiners emerged in the legal system as the courts needed help in handling, preparing, and interpreting document evidence. Document examiners employ many different methods depending on the questions they seek to answer. For example, is the signature on a given piece of art genuine? Were the diaries attributed to a particular person really written by that individual? Can a threatening letter be linked to a suspect? Was a page added to a business contract prior to or after the date of the original signature on the contract? A typical questioned document examination includes handwriting identification and analysis, analysis of printing devices, paper identification, ink identification, and examination of elements within the document such as indented markings, erasures, alterations, and obliterations. Document examiners also sometimes are called upon to analyze written materials that have been damaged by fire or water.
Both paper and print examinations involve the comparison of questioned items to known sources, which are called standards. Through this process, forensic document examiners may be able to link questioned materials to established sources. Forensic document examiners are often asked to determine the authenticity of documents based on the documents’ purported dates, and comparisons with known standards can enable them to establish the histories and origins of such documents. Another common task performed by forensic document examiners is the assessment of whether multiple documents have a common origin—for example, to determine whether certain documents can be linked to materials that have been seized from a suspect.
Knowledge of paper production processes and printing processes can help document examiners to identify class and individual characteristics in questioned documents. For instance, forensic document examiners are commonly asked to identify the types of printers used to produce particular documents. To do so, they might focus on watermarks, indentations, or accidental markings that result from the printing process.
By using scanners, microscopes, combinations of light sources and filters, and chemical testing techniques such as thin-layer (TLC), (GC), and (MS), document examiners can identify the similarities in chemical properties in the elements used in documents. This often enables them to determine how and when the documents in question were created, and thus can lead to information on who created the documents.
Bibliography
Deviterne-Lapeyre, Marie, and Samiah Ibrahim. "Interpol Questioned Documents Review 2019-2022." Forensic Science International: Synergy, vol. 6, 2023, doi.org/10.1016/j.fsisyn.2022.100300. Accessed 16 Aug. 2024.
James, Stuart H., and Jon J. Nordby, eds. Forensic Science: An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques. 2d ed. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 2005.
Kelly, Jan Seaman, and Brian S. Lindblom, eds. Scientific Examination of Questioned Documents. 2d ed. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 2006.
Spencer, James T. Introduction to Forensic Science: The Science of Criminalistics. CRC Press, 2024, doi.org/10.4324/9781003183709.
Storer, William H. “Questioned Documents.” In Introduction to Forensic Sciences, edited by William G. Eckert. 2d ed. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 1997.