Exploring the similarities between complete and initial signatures of an individual for the purpose of author identification

Abstract

Signature is a written depiction of someone’s full name, nickname, or a simple letter that has been used on any desired document as an indication of their identity. It is a particular case of handwriting, which includes flourishes and special characters which are produced by the force of habit. Forensically, the signatures are examined for naturalness in execution and for consistent recurrent options that confirm the established practice pattern of the author and aids in the identification of the author in cases of disputes. Commonly used parameters for the signature analysis by the handwriting experts are the formation of the letters, alignment, embellishment, spacing, pen-lifts, pen-pauses, slant, initial & final strokes, and pressure. In some instances where people make initials instead of full signatures, it becomes challenging for the forensics and handwriting experts to compare such initials with complete signatures. The present work has been focused on extracting the similarities between the initial and the complete signatures of an individual to aid in the identification of an individual in such complicated cases. This study may contribute to the identification of the author in the matter of disputes where initials have been used intentionally or unintentionally.