NCJ Number
129272
Date Published
1991
Length
131 pages
Annotation
Problems associated with deciphering erased pencil writing are among the most difficult in the field of document examination.
Abstract
The pencil is seldom used to write important documents, but pencil-written documents have sometimes assumed importance after their preparation. A common challenge is to claim that penciled records have been altered, since pencil writing is relatively easy to erase or at least to make almost illegible. Texts on document examination and forensic science have not dealt extensively with pencil erasure problems, even though recognizing and deciphering pencil erasures is a challenging task. Documents suspected of containing changes are often referred to a document examiner, with the hope of disclosing evidence of fraudulent manipulation and of revealing what was originally written. Complicating the evidence collection process is the fact that not all pencils are alike; some of their different qualities influence how they are erased and how measures are deciphered. The book covers pencil writing and how it is erased as well as visual, chemical, photographic, and physical methods of decipherment. Procedures for examining a document suspected of containing erasures and for dating an erasure are detailed. The handling of documents suspected of containing erasures is described along with how to present evidence of an erasure in reports in the courtroom. 101 notes and 30 figures