Forensic statement analysis (FSA), the analysis centres on the words, lack of words used, and handwriting in the response from a person to determine truthfulness, commitment of threats, vagueness, timelines and a number of factors to determine factual information or evidence. FSA takes into consideration deviations from the norm or a deviation or switch from one type of descriptive communication to another.  This is a type of forensic interviewing technique which can be highly effective and is taught by top rated investigative organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

 

FSA performs analysis of either the spoken or written word to establish the relevance to a criminal or civil dispute and can be used in a wide are of investigations for example:

 

· Forensic and criminal investigations this includes; murders, rapes, theft, fraud, corruption and numerous other crimes

· Ransom and kidnapping situations

· Suicide letters

· Threats

· Claims made in financial disputes

· In civil litigation cases

 

For example in the Susan Smith case in U.S.A. (Smith was found responsible for the disappearance of her children):

 

Susan Smith stood outside her burgundy sedan and released the parking brake. The car plunged down the ramp into South Carolina's Long Lake, with her sons, Michael, 3, and Alexander, 14 months, strapped into their car seats.

 

To cover her actions, Susan told police that the boys were abducted at gunpoint, launching a nationwide search for the victims and their abductor.  During the investigation, Susan tearfully told reporters, "My children wanted me. They needed me. And now I can't help them."

 

Yet, the boys' father, David, who believed Susan's story, tried to reassure her by saying: "They're  okay. They're going to be home soon."

 

Using FSA analysing the statements made by the victims' parents, it was concluded that the father believed the boys were alive and the mother knew the children were dead.  The key to this deduction lies in simple English grammar, specifically, verb tense.  The father referred to the children in the present tense; the mother used the past tense. Of all times, when the "abducted" children really would need their mother, she speaks of them in the past tense, e.g., "They needed me." The children could no longer want or need her because they were no longer alive.

 

Another example:

A woman claims she was drugged at a night club and then 'date raped'.  During the FSA the victim was asked to write down the entire events as she recalls them, including her daily activities proceeding the night club visit and through to the following morning.  The statement was analysed for timelines, comparisons of incidents and her activities in relation to the attack.  FSA seeks for evasion, distortion, too much or too little detail, etc. to determine whether her claim is real or not.  This example is based on an actual case, the result of the analysis found that the claim was false.

 

The biggest advantage of FSA is that it can often extract additional information and evidence from statements as it is able to link to actual events, incidents, time discrepancies and identification of other people who may be involved in an incident.

 

It further offers an alternative to polygraph examinations as it is less costly to perform when there are a high number of suspects involved and also can be done from anywhere in the world as statements can be faxed or e-mailed.

 

 

 

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