NCJ Number
175384
Journal
International Journal of Forensic Document Examiners Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: April-June 1998 Pages: 134-151
Date Published
1998
Length
18 pages
Annotation
More than 2,500 hand printing samples from photocopied Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) I-94 forms were collected and analyzed to test the hypotheses that some seemingly individual characteristics were in fact class characteristics and that class characteristics varied among different Latin American countries.
Abstract
The INS forms were sorted by the indicated nationality and grouped by writer, because one writer sometimes completed forms for an entire family. A list of letter forms that initially appeared to be individual characteristics was compiled; 27 were selected for analysis, as were 3 variations of the letter M. Fifty forms from each of nine Latin American countries were selected for further analysis. Results revealed that many of the selected forms were class rather than individual characteristics. In addition, some selected letter forms appeared more often in hand printing from some countries than from others. Findings supported both of the study hypotheses. Figures, tables, and 8 references (Author abstract modified)