Personnel - Brian Lindblom

Employment

Document Examination Consultants Inc. November 1987 to the present.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Central Forensic Laboratory (Ottawa): June 1980 to November 1987.

Forensic Training

Understudy Program in Document Examination at the R.C.M.P. Central Forensic Laboratory commenced in June 1980 and was completed in December 1981.

This program included modules on such subjects as:

• Methods and Systems of Handwriting
• Principles and Philosophy of Handwriting Comparisons
• Characteristics of Traced, Simulated and Disguised Writing
• Mechanical Product [i.e. checkwriters, photocopiers, typewriters, printers (laser, inkjet, dot matrix), etc.] Examinations and Comparisons
• Restoration and Decipherment of Indented Impressions and Damaged Document
• Examinations of Altered, Eradicated and Indented Writing
• Ink and Paper Analysis
• Physical Matching Techniques.

Understudy Program in Graphic Arts was completed at the R.C.M.P. Central Forensic Laboratory in 1985. This program of study included modules on such subjects as:

• Paper Manufacture
• Photography
• Printing Processes
• Production and Issuance of Genuine Security Documents
• Methods of Producing Counterfeits
• Principles and Methodology Employed in Examining Counterfeits.

Each program included reading assignments, study tours, essays, practical exercises, oral presentations and written examinations. Practical training included the completion of more than ninety cases, all of which were reviewed by senior examiners.

A Diploma in Forensic Document Examination (FSSocDip) was awarded by the Forensic Science Society of England in September 1986.

Certification as a Forensic Document Examiner was awarded in October 1990 by the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE) after completion of Board examinations. Elected to the Board of Directors in July 1995, serving until 1998. Member of the testing committee for certification until July 1998. Re-elected to the Board of Directors in December 2003. Served on the continuing education and testing committees until August 2005. The ABFDE is the only certifying body in North America that is sponsored by the Canadian Society of Forensic Science, American Society of Questioned Document Examiners, South-Western Association of Forensic Document Examiners, and the South-Eastern Association of Forensic Document Examiners. It is also recognized by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the International Association for Identification and the Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Sciences.

Continuing Education

Brian Lindblom has attended workshops and seminars on a variety of forensic subjects including; paper analysis, complex signature cases, facsimile machines, advanced infrared examinations, digital image enhancement, physiology of writing, providing expert testimony and technical writing.

These sessions were sponsored either by the Canadian Society of Forensic Science, The American Society of Questioned Document Examiners or The American Board of Forensic Document Examiners.

Academic Background

University of Manitoba, B.A., 1979

Professional Membership

• Canadian Society of Forensic Science (since 1983)
• The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (1996 - present)
  • Membership Status: Fellow - promoted 2012
• American Society of Questioned Document Examiners (since 1983)
  • Advancement to Full Membership achieved in 1989
  • Member of: Evaluation & Examinations Committee, Sept. 1995 - Dec. 1996
  • Journal Committee, January 1995 - August 1997.

Experience

Several thousand documents have been examined respecting questioned handwriting, typewriting, inks, paper, photocopy manipulation, facsimile copies, computer-generated documents, stamp impressions, alterations, counterfeit and altered negotiable instruments and travel documents.

Casework has been completed for:

• law firms
• insurance companies
• private and Crown corporations
• unions
• municipal governments
• school boards
• accounting firms
• banks
• investigation agencies
• police departments.

As well as regulatory bodies such as:

• Certified Management Accountants of Ontario
• The Professional Association of Engineers of Ontario
• The Law Society of Upper Canada
• The Law Society of Manitoba
• The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
• The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan
• The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba
• The College of Audiologists & Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario
• The College of Physiotherapists of Ontario
• College of Chiropodists of Ontario
• College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario
• College of Massage Therapists of Ontario
• The College of Psychologists of Ontario
• The College of Nurses of Ontario, and
• The Canadian Medical Protective Association

Expert evidence has been given at civil and criminal trials, employment arbitrations, immigration hearings, and before licensing boards. Testimony has been presented in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Trinidad & Tobago, the states of Florida and Illinois, as well as at the World Bank in Washington, D.C.

Consulting Services

While employed at the Central Forensic Laboratory, Mr. Lindblom provided assistance with, and recommendations for, the development of security features in Canadian negotiable documents and passports. As a private examiner he has designed and evaluated negotiable instruments, driver's licenses and immigration documents for Crown and private corporations.

Teaching

Mr. Lindblom developed training programs for the examination of travel documents. Trainees' assignments and casework were monitored. Programs for the screening of suspect documents were designed and presented to police officers, immigration inspectors, visa officers and customs officials in Canada and the U.S.A. Lectures have been given in the forensic science courses at the University of Ottawa Law School and at the University of Toronto.

Workshops and lectures have been provided to the American Society of Industrial Security, the Canadian Institute, the Council of Private Investigators of Ontario, Federated Press programs on Workplace Investigations, and the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners.

Awards

Recipient of the 2008 Ordway Hilton Award presented by the Questioned Documents Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Recipient of the 2007 American Board of Forensic Document Examiners New Horizon Award for publication of Scientific Examination of Questioned Documents – Second Edition. The award recognizes significant contributions to the forensic document examination field through research.

Publications and Presentations

• Impressions/Ink Intersection Sequencing - A Comprehensive Overview
  Journal of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners,
  December 2011. Vol. 14, No. 2
  
  
• The Forensic Examination of Facsimile Copies, Transmission Reports & Activity Journals
  SWAFDE Conference (Scottsdale, AZ) May 2011
  
  
• Mismatches within a Homogeneous Group of Writers
  ASQDE Conference (Victoria) August 2010 (Poster Presentation)

• Indentation Sequencing Workshop
  AAFS Conference (Chicago) February 2011
  ASQDE Conference (Dearborn) August 2009

• Fax Font Project VI TTI Database – 2009 Update
  ASQDE Conference (Dearborn) August 2009

• Write-On2 Document Comparison Software (workshop)
  ASQDE Conference (Asheville) August 2008

• Fax Font Project V TTI Database – 2008 Update
  ASQDE Conference (Asheville) August 2008

• The Application of Write-On Document Comparison Software to Complex Handwriting Comparisons
  AAFS Conference (Washington, DC) February 2008

• Examining Documents Requiring a Multi-Faceted Approach (workshop)
  MAFS Conference (Traverse City) September 2007

• Fax Font Project IV TTI Database – 2006 Update
  ASQDE Conference (Portland) August 2006

• Scientific Examination of Questioned Documents, 2nd Edition
  Co-Editor and a Principal Author, CRC Press 2006

• The Examination of Facsimile Reproductions (workshop)
  ABFDE Conference (Las Vegas) October 2004

• Multi-faceted Examinations (workshop)
  ABFDE Conference (Las Vegas) October 2004

• Examination of Photocopied Signatures: Distinguishing Between Line Quality and Ink Line Morphology (workshop)
  SAFDE Conference (Atlanta) April 2004

• Graphics Software as an Aid to Establishing Stroke Order in Complex Signatures
  ASQDE Conference (Memphis) August 2004
  SAFDE Conference (Atlanta) April 2004

• Photocopied Handwriting and Signatures (Panel Discussion) – Moderator/Presenter
  AAFS Conference (Chicago) February 2003

• The Document Examiner's Role in Deciphering Handwriting of a Severely Impaired Writer
  AAFS Conference (Chicago) February 2003
  MAFS Conference (Milwaukee) September 2002

• Practical Problems in the Relative Dating of Inks
  ASQDE Conference (San Diego) August 2002
  MAFS Conference (Minneapolis) September 2001

• A Case Study Illustrating Detection of Digital Manipulation
  ASQDE Conference (Ottawa) August 2000

• Tracking of Sourced Impressions
  ASQDE Conference (Ottawa) August 2000

• Enlargement and Reduction Characteristics of Facsimile Transmission Copies
  ASQDE/IAFS Conference (Los Angeles) August 1999
  Journal of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners, June 2003. Vol. 6, No. 1

• Write-On 1.0 Using Pikaso Software to Aid in the Comparison of Handwriting
  ASQDE/IAFS Conference (Los Angeles) August 1999

• The Litigator’s Guide to Expert Witnesses
  Document Examination Chapter, Canada Law Book Inc, 1997

• An Evaluation of Line Quality in Photocopied Signatures
  ASQDE 54th Annual Conference (Washington, DC) August 1996
  Science and Justice, Journal of the Forensic Science Society, 1998

• A Collection of Fax Fonts, Part II
  ASQDE 53rd Annual Conference (Chicago, IL) September 1995

• The Role of Forensic Document Examination Where Issues of Authenticity Arise in Estate Matters
  Factual Disputes in Estate Matters, The Canadian Institute, March 1994, Section 2

• Facsimile Header (TTI) Examinations
  ASQDE 52nd Annual Conference (Long Beach, CA) August 1994

• The Application of Forensic Document Examination in Estate and Trust Disputes
  Estates and Trusts Journal, September 1994. Vol. 14, No. 1.
  Reproduced in Will Power, CCH Canada, 1995

• Forensic Evidence in Canada
  Document Examination Chapter, Canada Law Book Inc, 1991

• The Examiner as Forensic Consultant and Expert Witness - Professional and Ethical Considerations
  ASQDE 49th Annual Conference (Lake Buena Vista, FL) August 1991
  Canadian Society of Forensic Science, Annual Conference (Montreal, Quebec) September 1991

• An Unusual Tracing Method
  Canadian Society of Forensic Science Annual Conference, 1990
  ASQDE 47th Annual Conference (Washington, DC) August 1989

• Fraud Prevention Measures
  Canadian Security, Feb/Mar 1990

• The Forensic Examination of Last Wills and Testaments
  Estates and Trusts Journal, August 1989. Vol. 9, No. 3.

• Current Trends in the Alteration and Counterfeiting of Travel Documents
  Canadian Society of Forensic Science and IAFS 11th Triennial Conference
  (Vancouver, BC) 1987

• The Alteration of Laminated Canadian Citizenship Cards
  ASQDE 43rd and Canadian Society of Forensic Science joint Annual Conference (Montreal, Quebec) 1985

• Stripper Plate Markings - An Individual Characteristic in Chequewriter Impression Examinations
  Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal, 1984. Vol. 17, No. 3.
  International Association of Forensic Science, Conference (Oxford, England) 1984

• Printing Characteristics of the Perm-a-Rite Mark II Label Tape Marker
  Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal, 1984. Vol. 17, No. 4.
  International Association of Forensic Science, Conference (Oxford, England) 1984. (Poster Presentation)

• Identifying Characteristics in the Handwriting of the Visually Impaired
  Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal, 1983. Vol.16, No. 4.
  ASQDE 41st Annual Conference (Lake Tahoe, Nevada) 1983.