Identification Features in Forensic Examination of Text Borrowing

Abstract

In the article, within the framework of the theory of criminalistic identification, based on works of the well-known criminalist scientist Prof. Valentin Koldin (1925–2020), we consider the features that a forensic expert works with when detecting textual borrowings (copy-paste and plagiarism).
 An optimal classification of identification features put into six groups is proposed: text coincidence at character level, misprints, punctuation errors, grammatical errors, speech and logical errors, and other speech features. The author suggests using the term "errative method" in the examination of borrowings and considers identification features in terms of their suitability for research – specificity, manifestation, and stability.
 At the same time, the differences between the examination of text borrowings and the traditional forensic authorship examination are emphasized: different identifiable objects (text and person, respectively), different properties of these objects, and, consequently, different features. The author analyzes the classifications of identification features represented in the most important scientific and methodological manuals on forensic authorship examination (in Russian), compares these classifications with the one given in the article, and concludes about the fundamental differences of the feature complexes.
 The article concludes that the proposed set of features provides a significant identification redundancy of the material – in contrast to both traditional authorship examination and, in general, to the majority of forensic enquiries. This redundancy allows the expert to make a reliable conclusion about the non-randomness of the coincidence of features, that is, about the identity of the borrowed text.