Stratford Guild's Wednesday 8 October talk - REVIEW

Forged signatures and how to detect them - John Jameson-Davis

John stepped in when our booked speaker became ill and cancelled all speaking engagements. He answered our call while on holiday in Crete!

John is a Questioned Handwriting and Document Examiner. His work mainly entails the examination of questioned signatures (those which have been challenged or doubted for some reason, perhaps on a Will, a passport, a bank or credit card or other document). He is also asked to look at questioned handwriting, dates and figures. He has testified in court as an expert witness.

His talk led us through the twists and turns of forensic handwriting examination, explaining how forgers attempt to pass off signatures as genuine and how handwriting specialists try to uncover their devious tricks. His talk used samples which have been through the public courts or are otherwise in the public domain. He protected identities by anonymising aspects.

He explained he treats each document as a potential crime scene. He showed us how he follows the trail of clues within pen strokes as he took us on a journey of detection.

To test a signature, he always tries to get the original ‘wet’ signature or very clear copies. He rejects unclear copies or scans. He asks for up to 20 verified signatures, no more than 6 years old.  He also requests the background to the questioned signature, e.g. the age and health of the person, any medication being taken and where/how it was signed. All these have a bearing on his assessment. He stated that people’s signature remains similar throughout their life, but noted that they will have variations. No two signatures will be identical.

The key to detection is how the signature moves across the paper. Handwriting signatures have 3 parts: 

1. Movement - speed, slant and pressure.

2. Form - size, structure and proportions (the difference between the tallest and shortest letters): A vital clue.  

3. Arrangement - white spaces (where the writing is on the page) and alignment.

There are many types of signatures he sees:

·      Authentic

·      Simple forgery (no attempt to simulate) 

·      Simulated forgery (intent to copy)

·      Practised forgery (memorised)

·      Disguised (deliberately done)

·      Public (used by public figures)

·      Couldn’t care less squiggles                                                                  

There are several key elements he looks for when examining signatures:                                                                                             

·      Ductus – the stroke quality: is it a good or poor stroke?                           

·      What type of pen was used – they all leave signs.                                                                                              

Where the pen was first put to the paper and in what direction the pen moves. He illustrated all of these points with many real examples of different script types and examples of genuine and forged signatures, with identified key features noted.

John has a lovely sense of humour. His talk educated and entertained us. He brought a light touch to a serious subject.

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 12 November, when Juliet ten Doeschate will introduce us, via her wonderful photographs, to the bug world, including wasps, ladybirds and hoverflies.                

Hope to see you there.

Terry Ereira