Development of a Supplemental Technique to Increase Visualization of Handwriting Indentations in Crumpled Documents with the Use of an Electrostatic DetectionDevice (EDD)

Forensic document examiners (FDEs) receive questioned documents in all sorts of conditions: chemically processed, folded, crumpled, wet, frozen, charred, wadded, or a combination thereof. Application of an Electrostatic Detection Device (EDD) is one of the key examinations performed on original questioned documents. These examinations have elicited superb information in the form of latent handwriting indentations as well as pattern impressions that may indicate a printing process, which otherwise might have remained unseen. Crumpled or wadded documents have proven a problem in the area of EDD examinations as the toner particles may adhere to the uneven and prominent creases and folds as opposed to the more subtle and delicate latent handwriting indentations or printing process impressions. This research attempts to develop a supplemental EDD technique in which increased relative humidity (RH), pressure by use of a weight, and/or a stretching technique may be applied to a crumpled piece of paper containing latent handwriting indentations after a traditional EDD exam has already been applied that did not yield fruitful results. These secondary techniques have proven in this research to allow for increased visualization of latent handwriting indentations.