Tool for Document Examination

• NCJ Number: 231050
• Date Published: May 2010
• Length: 2 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2009-MU-MU-K261
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Award: Operate the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC)

Annotation

This publication discusses CedarFox, a new tool which provides analysis of large numbers of sample handwriting matches.

Abstract

CedarFox, a new tool to assist document examiners in the analysis and comparison of handwriting samples, is a system for analyzing complex documents. The tool developed by the Center of Excellence for Document Analysis and Recognition (CEDAR) at the University of New York at Buffalo, assists forensic document examiners by reducing the time it takes to examine the evidence. CedarFox includes the following capabilities: handwriting recognition, including automatic character recognition; writer and signature verification; image processing, including underline and background removal; handwriting segmentation that separates words of text in a handwritten document; transcript mapping; and searching, including keyword searches. The software is helpful for examiners because it can save time, however, it does not replace the human examiner.