26,July 2024
Forensic science is a vast field that is important for case investigation in the field of criminal activities. Every piece of evidence found at a crime scene turns out to be a storyteller and illustrates what could have actually happened, how a crime was committed, what were the plans of offenders, etc. Therefore, the document examination field is that branch of forensics that is often seen overshadowing high-profile disciplines like ballistics examination, DNA analysis, etc. The experts in this field play an important role in discovering the truth behind hidden mysteries and thus help in solving cases by simplifying them. To help you get an overview of the career and scope of forensic science document examination, here in this blog, we have given the complete details on it. Such candidates who find interest in the document field can go through the blog and get clarity on the same.
What is Forensic Science Document Examination?
The field of document examination deals with the analysis and examination of the documents that are presented in the court as evidence or supporting documents to help in solving the case. These documents are often known as questioned documents and are evaluated using several scientific techniques and methods to verify their authenticity. The documents that can be examined to check their authenticity are handwritten and printed letters, contracts, digital files, wills, etc. These documents are examined by professionals with the primary aim of determining whether these are authentic or not, their origin, is any alteration made to the document or not, authorship of it, along other important characteristics that help in investigating and solving the legal matters.
Who Are Forensic Science Document Examiners?
These are the experts of forensic science who are highly professionally trained by the top-class institutes under rigorous training modules. These professionals hold special skills that are a combination of scientific expertise with an open and sound mind along with a detailed understanding of legal procedures and methodologies. These experts apply their document knowledge in cases to identify the presence of forgery, alterations, or modifications to the actual documents, examine and analyze handwriting, and decode minute details that can’t be identified by other professionals who are not experts in this field.
Scope of Forensic Document Examination:
If you simply look at a document and try to identify the errors in it, you will not be able to do so. It is because as an individual you don’t hold such expertise that is required to detect alterations. Another reason for not finding such errors is the proficiency of the criminals. Offenders who alter the details of the documents to get benefits out of them do not leave any stone unturned to make sure that they are not being caught by the police or the crime branch personnel.
This is where the document examiners come into the picture and it is because of such people that we are able to track the fraudulent activities of the thieves and save ourselves from such frauds. One of the most common frauds that is done by fraudsters is the imitate the actual signatures of an individual and use them in their favor either in banks to withdraw money, or to make or break the deals that might benefit their firms or companies, or to get the authority of such land or property which is not their. The document examination expert helps in solving such forgery cases and to solve the case thus catching the offender and proving the innocence of the victim in a case.
There are so many organizations from banks to universities that hire such professionals and offer them exciting salary packages. These organizations are not only private but public as well. While working in public and private banks you will be responsible for verifying the signatures of the clients to ensure that no fraudulent transaction is being done in the bank, while working in a university or college your task will be to teach the students the art of document examination. If you are someone who is attracted towards this field but is held under the confusion whether you will get a good paying job in this career or not so don’t worry because once you enter this field, you don’t need to look back as it will offer you exciting and appealing opportunities throughout your career. The scope of document examination field is broad and encompasses various specialized areas:
1. Handwriting Analysis: The comparison and analysis of the handwriting samples done to determine authorship or authenticity is done by such experts. Handwriting experts have the special ability to identify the individual characteristics of writing patterns like stroke patterns, pressure, and spacing and thus are able to identify the culprit it is because these features are unique to each person and hence can be treated as a strong indicator of person identification.
2. Forgery Detection: The task of detecting forged signatures, documents, or counterfeit materials is also done by these experts. Since it is a crucial and important part of legal investigations, it is mandatory that the examination officer should be an excellent examiner. Several techniques like ink analysis, paper examination, and microscopic inspection are used by such experts to identify discrepancies.
3. Printed Document Analysis: As discussed above alterations can’t only be made to the handwritten documents but can also be done to printed ones. Therefore the analysis of printed documents to ascertain the authenticity of any document or to identify the origin of the document, techniques like printing methods identification, ink types identification, etc are used.
4. Digital Document Examination: With the increase in digital communication, document examiners are forced to deal with digital documents like emails, messages, and digital signatures. Techniques that are used by the experts to know their authenticity are metadata analysis, digital watermark detection, and forensic software tools.
5. Document Reconstruction: There are cases where the actual documents are destroyed or damaged because of some or the other reason, in such cases forensic document examiners use specialized techniques like piecing together fragments or advanced imaging technology to reconstruct the original content of a document.
Career Opportunities In Forensic Science Document Examination:
The career of a forensic document examiner is fascinating since it is a unique amalgamation of scientific analysis in investigative work. These professionals typically work in agencies such as law enforcement departments, public and private forensic laboratories, investigation firms, or even sometimes are seen working as independent consultants. Sometimes they are called upon to testify as experts in court by presenting their findings on the case and thus make conclusions that help in legal proceedings.
As a forensic document examiner, you will be able to work in the following fields:
- Handwriting expert,
- Digital document analyst,
- Signature expert,
- Forensic expert.
But remember one thing these are some of the profiles that you can work as and not the only ones. So never forget to explore more such career profiles that can help you in your career growth.
Once you complete your education in this field you don’t need to think much about the working space for yourselves. There are several companies and organizations in the market that are striving to hire the best candidate within their budget who can help them to another level. If you are a graduate then you can either opt for a job or pursue higher education in the same field. If you are looking for the best recruiters of document examiners then here are a few options for you:
Top Recruiters:
Some of the best recruiters for document examiners are as follows:
- Intelligence Bureau,
- Central Bureau of Investigation,
- Government Forensic Laboratory,
- Crime Branch,
- Quality Control Bureau,
- Courts,
- Narcotics Department,
- Police Department,
- Defense Sector,
- Department of Forensic Medicine.
- Private Hospitals,
- Private Hospitals,
- Private Forensic Laboratory,
- Insurance Companies,
- University,
- Banks,
- Private Investigator,
- Law firms,
- Secret Service.
Roles And Responsibilities of Document Examiners:
The task of document examiners is an important part of a criminal investigation. They are not only merely examiners but are an additional helping hand of the police department that helps in solving the case efficiently. Some of the top responsibilities that are played by document examiners are as follows:
- Uncover alterations and variations in pen inks used in the documents,
- Classification of documents presented,
- Examination of documents,
- Examination of signatures on the documents,
- Determining the age of documents,
- Examining the physical documents,
- Identification of dot-matrix in the documents,
- Determining the type of printers used,
- Cross-examination of the documents presented.
To conclude this topic, let us tell you that document examination is not only about examining and analyzing the ink paper, instead it is about unveiling the hidden mysteries, discovering truths, and delivering justice to the victim. This field is a unique combination of science and legal knowledge that makes this field more captivating for such people who are passionate about uncovering the truth.
References:
- https://www.robsonforensic.com/articles/forensic-document-examination-expert-witness
- https://www.nfsu.ac.in/Programs/programinfo/16?deptid=103
- https://www.shiksha.com/university/national-forensic-sciences-university-gandhinagar-48862/course-pg-diploma-in-forensic-document-examination-253947
- https://www.collegesearch.in/university/gujarat-forensic-sciences-university-gandhinagar/pgd-forensic-document-examination
- https://upsifs.org/pg-diploma-in-forensic-document-examination.php
- https://www.ifsedu.in/forensic-science-and-document-examination/