ENFSI Document and Handwriting Working Group
Definition
The European Network of Forensic Science Institutes working group responsible for harmonising best-practice guidelines for forensic document examination across European national laboratories.
- Full name
- ENFSI Document and Handwriting Working Group
- Scope
- Forensic document examination methodology
- Goal
- Harmonised best practice across European national laboratories
- Related field
- Handwriting and signature comparison, plus document analysis techniques
Common questions
How does this group's remit relate to the ENFSI FIDE-WG?+
Both sit within the document examination discipline; the naming reflects different working-group iterations and sub-focuses over time (handwriting comparison versus ink and materials analysis), so an examiner should check which guideline document is current rather than assume the groups are interchangeable.
Why does document examination need a Europe-wide working group at all?+
Handwriting and document cases often cross borders, and harmonised methodology lets one country's laboratory report be understood and weighed consistently by a court or examiner in another EU member state.
Related terms
- Foster+Freeman VSC8000
- The current-generation forensic document examination workstation produced by Foster+Freeman Ltd (UK), used by the FBI Laboratory, DSTL (UK), CFSL (India), AFP (Australia),...
- IR-Cut Filter
- A filter placed in the camera optical path that blocks near-infrared radiation, allowing only visible-range light to reach the sensor; must be...
- IR Luminescence
- Emission of near-infrared radiation by ink dye molecules when excited by visible light; different ink formulations luminesce at different intensities, allowing differentiation...
- IR Transmission
- Examination of a document with infrared radiation transmitted from below; exploits the IR-transparency of titanium dioxide in correction fluid to image underlying...
- Oblique-Light Illumination
- Illumination of a document surface at a very low angle (5-20 degrees) to create disproportionately long shadows from surface irregularities, revealing mechanical...
- Optical Brightening Agent (OBA)
- A fluorescent compound added to paper pulp or coatings that absorbs UV-A radiation and re-emits it as visible blue light, making paper...
- Transmitted-Light Examination
- Examination of a document with diffuse illumination from below, making paper thickness variation, watermarks, erasure thinning, and some obliterations visible as brightness...
- Video Spectral Comparator (VSC)
- A multispectral imaging instrument combining UV, visible, and near-infrared illumination with selectable emission filters and a calibrated digital camera; the primary bench...
- Watermark
- A pattern formed in paper during manufacture by localised fibre-density variation on the Fourdrinier wire; visible in transmitted light as a lighter...