Science / New software claims to help the courts: prove the identity of
Writes a document according to the manuscript
By Yuval Dror
such as manuscripts
Researchers from New York University claim to have developed special software
which proves that a manuscript is unique to the writer. This uniqueness will allow my daughter
A trial to receive evidence that identifies a suspect according to his handwriting, in the same manner
The suspect's fingerprint or DNA sample proves his identity.
This software can also help detect signature forgers - starting with these
that appear in wills and up to those at the bottom of the enabling notes
evading school.
In recent years, US courts have been rejecting expert testimony,
Those who claim that it is possible to prove that a suspect wrote a certain document, based on the assumption
There is no similar manuscript in the world. The evidence is rejected due to the claim that it was not found
The study that examined the subject scientifically and empirically.
At the beginning of 2000, Professor Sargur Sihari, director of the center, received
for document analysis and identification at New York University at Buffalo in the USA,
A special grant of $428 from the National Law Center, so that it can open
Software that will prove the uniqueness of the manuscript. Sihari says, that's a trick
Handwriting recognition is considered particularly complex. Characterization and identification of handwriting
Requires an examination of the way the handwriting is rounded, of the spaces between
The words, the force applied by the writer on the pen, the gradients of the letters and so on.
Although every time a person writes, he writes in a slightly different way, there are
Repetitive patterns that are unique only to him. According to him, although everyone
They learn in schools what is the right way to write, over the years they develop
The people have unique writing characteristics.
In a study published a few days ago in the magazine "Sciences Journal of
Forensic claims Sihari fed into the software he developed about 1,500 types of handwriting
different, and she was able to present the special characteristics of each manuscript.
According to him, when the software was required to identify whether a certain document was written by a person
In the hands of one or two different people, she achieved 95% success. when required
The software to identify which of two people wrote a certain document, based on knowledge
First on their manuscript, she achieved 98% success, and when required to identify
One manuscript out of a thousand writers, the software provided an 89% correct answer
Of the cases.
"Everyone agrees that everyone has a slightly different handwriting. All we did was
To develop a system that meets scientific standards, that proves this claim like this
That it can also be used in courts", said Sihari in an interview with the magazine
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According to experts in the field, the legal need for handwriting recognition is real.
Software that can prove who wrote a certain document and if it is fake, you can analyze
Also signatures on birth certificates, checks or business contracts.
In some cases, the decision on the validity of the signature may decide a trial
Complete as in trials dealing with wills.
Despite this, there are researchers in the scientific community who do not accept the axiom
on which Sihari leans, as if the handwriting is different from person to person. "The issue
The real one in court deals with the question of what is the probability that the software will locate a second
Different people as having the same handwriting? Is this an astronomical chance?
As in the case of a fingerprint? We do not receive an answer to these questions
In Sihari's study," said law professor Michael Risinger
from Stan-Hall University in an interview with "New Scientist" magazine
These arguments do not let go of Sihari's hands, who explains that now
The development team headed by him will perfect the software - so that you can recognize it
Also tiny features in the handwriting of different people, like Aliyah or
A tiny decrease in writing certain letters, and even tiny decorations
that people tend to add in their handwriting unconsciously. in an interview
Sihari told the magazine Technology Research News that such improvements
The software will improve its success in more than 99% of the cases.
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