Checked Out

Throughout my career I worked check thefts and forgeries, in some positions more so than others.  Checks were stolen from people’s homes during burglaries.  Backpacks containing checkbooks were stolen from restaurants, bars and libraries. Checkbooks were stolen out of car glove compartments.  Social security checks and public assistance checks were stolen out of mailboxes

I took several classes concerning handwriting analysis and also studied on my own. I still had to rely on the state police experts for court testimony, but I got pretty good at doing my own analysis for use in my investigations and interviews/integrations.

There were specific preprinted forms for obtaining handwriting samples to be sent to the State Police for analysis.  Often my suspects in forgery cases would baulk at completing the official handwriting exemplar forms, especially if they were guilty. But they had no problem completing hand written statements denying they committed the forgeries

Let me give you an example so you get the humor in this:

Say John Doe was suspected of breaking into Brad Brown’s car and stealing his checkbook from the glove compartment and writing out checks to himself and cashed them before John Doe closed his account.  One of the checks was dated June 1, 2005 payable to John Doe for the amount of one hundred dollars signed by Brad Brown.

The suspect’s handwritten statement would read similar to this.

I John Doe did not forge a check on the account of Brad Brown

The check was dated June 1, 2005. Payable to John Doe for the amount One Hundred Dollars, $100.00. It was signed with the name Brad Brown.

(Maybe some other misc information I would ask for)

            (Their true signature written and printed)

Often they would write the items on the statement similar to those on the forged check or other words they wrote on the statement would have specific writing characteristics, as did items on the forged checks. In the suspect’s hand written denial I was getting exactly what I had wanted, just not as many samples.

Those written statements with other information were usually enough to get a confession. Or the written statement along with other documents that the suspect had completed in their normal routine were enough for the state examiner to make a determination.

Check forgeries are definitely on the decline with the use of direct bank deposits, debit cards, credit cards and government program cards.

There are several companies that charge consumers for protecting their debit and credit cards. Are they the answer? Are we safer using debit cards rather then checks? Did you feel safer writing checks opposed to giving someone your plastic? Or should we all go back to that idea of using cash?