Character Inventory
Definition
The pre-collection analysis of the questioned document to identify all letters, numerals, and special characters it contains, which then governs the comparable-text requirements for exemplar collection.
- Stage
- Pre-collection document analysis
- Identifies
- All letters, numerals, special characters present
- Governs
- Comparable-text requirements for exemplars
- Field
- Questioned document examination
Common questions
Why is a character inventory done before collecting exemplars?+
Knowing exactly which letters, numerals, and characters appear in the questioned document lets the examiner target exemplar collection to those specific forms, rather than gathering broad writing samples that may miss the characters actually needed for comparison.
What happens if the inventory is skipped?+
The examiner risks collecting exemplars that lack one or more of the characters present in the questioned document, which can force a second, delayed round of exemplar collection or weaken the comparison for characters never obtained.
Related terms
- Comparable Text
- The requirement that the exemplar set contains multiple repetitions of each letter, numeral, and character type that appears in the questioned document,...
- Contemporaneity
- The requirement that the exemplar set includes writings produced at approximately the same time as the questioned document, to avoid comparing writing...
- Course-of-Business Writings
- Handwriting exemplars collected from writings the subject produced in the normal course of their life, before the case arose, without knowledge that...
- Gilbert V. California (1967)
- US Supreme Court decision holding that compelled handwriting exemplars do not constitute testimonial self-incrimination protected by the Fifth Amendment, because handwriting is...
- Natural Variation
- The normal within-writer fluctuation in individual features across repetitions of the same letter or writing task; an examiner assesses whether questioned-writing variation...
- PACE 1984 s.61A
- The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 provision (inserted by the Criminal Justice Act 2003) allowing a UK constable to compel a...
- Request Writings
- Handwriting exemplars produced by the person of interest specifically for comparison purposes, under conditions controlled by the investigator or examiner; also called...
- Section 73 IEA / BSA 2023
- The Indian Evidence Act 1872 provision (carried forward into the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023) empowering a court to direct any person to...
- Sufficient Quantity
- The requirement that the exemplar set contains enough repetitions of each significant individual characteristic to allow the examiner to establish the writer's...