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This is the first of what may be several articles of use to the forensic investigator. If you have an article of benefit, please contact the webmaster.
Document examination with an inexpensive Night Vision Scope. Deputy Tim Seguin, Ingham County (Michigan) Sheriff's Office
CAVEAT: The views expressed are entirely those of the author and not to be construed as the official communication, policy, etc. of any law enforcement agency, MOIA, or the IAI. Investigators utilizing these or any other techniques would be well advised to contact their prosecuting or Crown attorney prior to implementing them on actual casework. Certain aspects of this case study have been suppressed as the case itself is still open. There. I've said it. Now for the reason you're reading this article. But first, a little background. Cindy Smith (pseudonyms used) had written a check to Stella Jones for some baby sitting services that Jones rendered to her three year old son Johnny. However, when Smith picked up Johnny from Jones she found several bruises about the buttocks and legs of little Johnny. Doing what any mother would do Smith confronted Jones about Johnny's injuries and was told said injuries were accidental (later found to be due to an assault). But that wasn't all. Smith later received a phone call from her bank. It appeared that Jones rapidly cashed the check, however, Smith wrote a check for $108.00; the bank cashed said check for $188.00, an apparent forgery according to the bank. Smith notified the Sheriff's Office, and that's where I came in. After receiving both complaints and photographing the injuries, I impounded the carbon copy of the check and the bank's copy of the passed check. Later the bank supplied me with the actual passed check and an affidavit of fraud from Smith. I know what you're thinking...what if Smith made a mistake on the check and amended it AFTER she removed it from the checkbook. Well, dear reader, that's where the Night Vision Device comes in. When I was a private investigator, one of the items I purchased was an inexpensive, Russian made starlight type (passive) night scope complete with an infra-red laser illuminator. The same type you see sold everywhere from $150-300. Now I also knew that some inks would appear transparent to infra-red while others would appear opaque. And that passive type night scopes would render an infra-red illuminated image as a visible one. So, in a darkened room I illuminated the check with the laser while viewing it from a distance of about two feet from the objective lens (the closest viewing distance) of the Night Vision Device. The check, however, had the same appearance as a blank check. To further test this theory I gathered six different pens from around the house and viewed various handwriting samples with the laser-scope arrangement. And it was true that some inks are opaque to infra-red while others would be to varying degrees transparent. While this wasn't of great use to the fraud case, it does point out that the use of these devices would be useful in proving fraud through obliteration, overwriting, etc. I also found out that attaching a close-up lens to the scope objective lens makes it easier to focus on the work. A camera adapter would also be a handy device (fortunately I had one) for preserving the images. All told, it gives the investigator a new use for an increasingly common tool.
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