5 minute read
To the trained eye
Editorial: Lane Mihaljevic
Photography: Scott McNaughton
From menacing letters to counterfeit fine wine, Victoria Police’s Document Examination Unit has almost seen it all.
Since its establishment in the early 1960s, the small team has played a vital role in the inspection of more than 50,000 unique items.
But one of the unit’s senior document examiners, Forensic Officer Kylie Edwards, says the team’s name is often misunderstood.
“A lot of people assume we only deal with pen and paper,” Ms Edwards said, “when, in actual fact, we do so much more.”
The Document Examination Unit examines text of all kinds, whether it’s handwritten, printed or digital. It also has the ability to reconstruct shredded documents, uncover markings and reveal hidden messages.
“The unit works with exhibits, usually pieces of evidence, from police officers and detectives,” Ms Edwards said.
“Once an exhibit has been vetted and delivered to our facility, we familiarise ourselves with the associated case and begin the examination process.”
While the process varies depending on the type of document or item delivered, the main goal is to gather as many facts as possible.
That’s where the unit’s state-of-the-art technology comes into play.
“Our examination tools and equipment are a huge part of what we do,” Ms Edwards said.
“One day we might be using infrared light to look at the differences between inks, and the next we could be using computer software to piece together a bag of shredded documents.”
Despite being a small team, the Document Examination Unit is a powerhouse of knowledge.
Their understanding of complex scientific principles combined with their skill in conducting in-depth forensic examinations is a great asset to frontline members.
Police out in the field, for example, might have a hunch about the author of a handwritten land title, but for that hunch to mean something in court, a document examiner needs to conduct an independent examination to confirm or refute the theory.
That process can take anywhere from days to months, depending on the type of examination required.
“The time it takes for our team to process an exhibit from beginning to end depends on the complexity of the examination we need to conduct, as well as the number of high-priority cases we’re juggling at the time,” Ms Edwards said.
“Comparing handwritten text on a post-it note to a sample of the suspect’s handwriting may not take too long, but reconstructing a 100-page document is a very different story.”
Then there are ‘connected’ exhibits.
When an exhibit sent in to the unit is linked to tens, or even hundreds, of other items, it often hints at the scale of the investigation at hand.
For many, the thought of having to comb through containers of evidence would be overwhelming.
But for the unit’s longest serving document examiner, Senior Forensic Officer David Black, it’s just another day in the office.
“It’s all part of the job,” Mr Black said.
“It’s not unusual for us to receive dozens of notes that were written on the same notepad, handfuls of letters suspected to be written by the same individual, or bags of shredded paper.”
But when Police Life asked Mr Black about the cases that stood out over his career to date, he recalled a time when something a bit different came across his desk.
“I was asked to examine a few bottles of wine,” Mr Black said.
“Counterfeit 1990 Grange Hermitage a very fine, expensive wine produced by Penfolds.”
These days, a bottle is worth about $1500.
So when police were notified that it was circulating for a whole lot less, an investigation ensued.
“According to the case notes I received with the bottles, the Grange was first identified as counterfeit when it was taken into a collectors wine merchant for evaluation,” Mr Black said.
“A man had managed to get his hands on a few dozen and wanted to get one priced by a wine auctioneer, probably thinking he could make a quick profit.”
But what the man didn’t consider was that there could be an error printed onto the label, which would set off alarm bells for the evaluator.
“There was a spelling mistake on the back,” Mr Black said, “and when the man realised the evaluator had picked that up, he made a run for it.”
As Mr Black expected, jumbled up letters weren’t the only reason the bottle had been pinged as counterfeit.
“I compared the labels on the bottles to a label from some real Grange and found that the barcode had been printed in the wrong colour, so it had definitely been forged,” Mr Black said.
“But more importantly, I also managed to find out where the counterfeit wine had come from.”
Using a suite of scientific methods, Mr Black was able to uncover a marking on the bottle which police investigators used to establish where the wine had been produced.
“It was a great result,” Mr Black said.
“Police were able to use the findings we presented to take the people behind the whole thing to court.”
In 2023, the unit continues to support police by examining items of all shapes and sizes whether paper-based, digital, or made of grapes.
Ms Edwards, who works closely with Mr Black, said it’s the variety that makes the work so interesting.
“We get to examine all kinds of evidence,” Ms Edwards said, “and we all really enjoy it.”
“At the end of the day, whether we’re looking at counterfeit wine, establishing the legitimacy of a driver’s licence, or studying a document linked to a violent crime, we know we’re doing our bit.”
