FBI's database of anonymous letters

[Khoder bin Hakkin]

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/page2.htm

Anonymous Letters

                                     The Anonymous Letter File (ALF) is
an
                                     image-oriented database housed in
the
                                     Questioned Documents Unit of the
FBI
                                     Laboratory. The repository houses
letters from
                                     anonymous sources, categorizing
entries based
                                     on target (recipient of letter),
method of
                                     preparation, and content.

                                     Established in the 1930s, the
original ALF was a
                                     unique and useful resource for law
enforcement.
                                     Originally, index card-sized
sections of a note's
                                     text was from a photograph of the
original
                                     anonymous letter and entered to the
database
                                     with the written portion of its
envelope. The
                                     entry was filed based on its
geographic origin
                                     (determined by the post mark),
nature (hate or
                                     demand note) and the method of
communication
                                     (hand-written, typed, etc.). During
a search,
                                     when a Laboratory Technician
detected
                                     similarities between two or more
entries, the
                                     available content of those notes
would be further
                                     examined (remember, only an index
card-sized
                                     portion was initially used). If an
association still
                                     appeared likely, an Examiner would
then
                                     conduct a more thorough comparison
including
                                     an examination of handwriting
characteristics.

                                     In the early 1980s, the database
was upgraded
                                     to include video-camera-captured
images of
                                     letters. The images were stored on
disk and the
                                     text of the entire letter was
retyped for
                                     comparison. The new system also
enabled
                                     special attention to be given to
vocabulary,
                                     spelling habits, and the topic that
a letter
                                     addressed. Even with this more
advanced
                                     system, a Questioned Documents
Examiner still
                                     studied the hand writing or
printing methods of
                                     the associated letters looking for
a stronger
                                     connection.

                                     The Laboratory's current ALF
system, updated
                                     in the 1990s, is even more
advanced. Instead of
                                     capturing an image of a letter by
video camera,
                                     images are scanned onto a computer
hard drive
                                     with back-ups made on compact
discs.
                                     Comparison is then conducted based
on target,
                                     method of preparation, and content.

                                     The associations that result from
ALF searches
                                     can prove invaluable in FBI and
other law
                                     enforcement investigations.
Frequent topics of
                                     anonymous letters include bomb
threats,
                                     environmental concerns, abortion
politics, and
                                     gun control.