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Document Examination

The Document Examination Section provides forensic expertise in examination of documents where there is some question as to all or part of the content of a document. Is it forged or authentic?

The scope of document examination work is within two categories:

1. Those where forensic examination of the questioned document alone, may provide indications or the answer to questioned matters such as interpretation of the text, or the original nature of the text before alteration, addition, deletion or obliteration. This may involve scientific examination including using infra-red or ultra-violet lights and filters with comparison projectors known as Video Spectral Comparator (VSC), or the Electrostatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA) to record indentations on a document's surface, from writing upon previous overlying pages;
2. Those jobs where the questioned document is compared with a specimen, and examination of evidence may determine if the questioned document is from the same source as the specimen document. Typically this involves comparison of writings, but may also include comparison of all sorts of machine-generated images.