ESDA test

English Etymology From en ESDA electrostatic detection apparatus test. Noun en law criminology A nondestructive forensic technique used to reveal hidden or indented writing on paper. en 1990 Reasonable Doubt, The Case for the UDR Four Ian Paisley (Jr.) 138 On 3 January 1991 the long awaited reply from the RUC with regard to the ESDA tests was at last received. en 1999 Miscarriages of Justice, A Review of Justice in Error Clive Walker, Keir Starmer (editors) 297 In one case an ESDA test showed that the police had tampered with eight to ten pages of interview notes, but the judge nevertheless accepted the police's word as to their veracity; to make matters worse, by the time the case came on for appeal the ESDA exhibits had mysteriously disappeared. en 2002 The Sweater Letter David L. Distel 158 Meanwhile, The Sweater Letter had made its way to the State Police Crime Lab in East Lansing. It underwent an ESDA test for indented handwriting from the previous page. Lt. James Steggell called Bob Ball with the results en June 25, 2015 Malcolm McMahon Police Under Attack!!! https://groups.google.com/g/alt.atheism/c/_iayY5y5884/m/1-X5u9pma7kJ alt.atheism Did you hear about PACE (the police and criminal evidence act)? When the ESDA test came in, which allows you to determine if hand-written documents have been altered, we found out just how prone to fake statements the police are. So we "tied the hands of the police" with a whole lot of procedural rules. Anarchy was predicted. In reality, of course, crime rates continue to fall.