The Evaluation of Handwriting Features in Photocopied Signatures

摘要

The photocopies are considered as the best possible evidences in the situations when the original documents are either lost or damaged. A photocopy cannot reproduce all the details of the original document. In the present study, an attempt has been made to study the handwriting features from the non-original documents. The outcomes of this study are very satisfactory and encouraging and could help in the examination of photocopied samples. Introduction The invention of advanced and modern reproduction techniques such as photocopiers or all-in-one machines that can scan, copy and print documents, lead to the acceptance of non-original documents as evidences. The document examiners are very often requested to examine non-original documents especially in cases where it is claimed that the original document has been lost or destroyed or is not available. Sometimes, original documents exist but are not available for use e.g. they may be present in court records at distant jurisdiction. The photocopied documents are often submitted to the forensic document examiners to determine the authorship of writing or signatures. The photocopies are the filtered images of original information; therefore, this photocopied document does not produce handwriting details as in original documents. Some examiners declined to express positive conclusion for the photocopied signature/handwriting due to the fact that the copying process may have concealed or introduce evidence of simulation. At the same time, others furnished a conditional opinion stating that the same was based on the assumption that these non original documents were the true reproduction of the original documents.Various forensic document examiners have examined handwriting characteristics in the photocopied signatures. They were of the view that though photocopies not always permit exhaustive handwriting examination but some times there will be adequate material in good quality photocopies that help in useful comparison (Hilton 1984a, Ellen 1989). Morton (1989) examined the photocopies of both signatures and extended writing written with different writing instruments and on different type of papers. According to her, most of the copiers reproduced the signatures, genuine and forged; well enough for a fruitful examination. Dawson and Lindblom (1998) investigated the extent to which photocopying process inhibits the ability of experts to assess a variety of line quality features and whether the non original features impacted on the assessment of overall line quality. Grose (1999) presented a survey that addressed authorship, authenticity and effects of potential manipulation on the examination of photocopies and the degree of strength of the conclusion rendered. The results of the survey indicated that 70% of the examiners believe the possibility to conclusively determine the authorship of writing and 79% said that it was not scientifically possible to determine the authenticity of a photocopied document 72% of the document examiners were opined that the issues of authorship and authenticity in a written conclusion should be considered separately. Found et al. (2001) investigated the skill of forensic document examiners in making opinion regarding the process of production and authorship on both original and non-original signatures. According to authors the study had certain limitations as small sample and the group of examiners (who participated in the study) was not true representatives of the document examiners in general. In addition to this, the results could be different for less complex signatures, for extended text or for a more limited writing sample. Moreover, the quality of the photocopy would also affect the results. Found and Rogers (2005) tested the accuracy of 15 examiners opinion regarding whether photocopied questioned signatures were genuine or simulated. The study provided substantial support that examiners can make accurate observations regarding the authorship of n