In a unique study, British forensic experts have used the Punjabi script Gurmukhi to develop a technique through which the origin and age of writers could be tracked, a method that could prove effective in profiling the criminal authors of documents.

Researchers at the University of Derby used a Punjabi pangram (sentence containing all the letters of the alphabet) to zero in on the identity of writers.

A popular example of a pangram in English is: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, which uses all 26 letters of the alphabet.

The experts used a Punjabi pangram  a paragraph in the Punjabi script Gurmukhi, which contained all 40 characters of the Indo-Aryan language as part of a study to see if written text could be used to help build up a profile of its author.

Studies of the same paragraph written by 200 volunteers showed the handwriting could be used to determine if someone was a native from a foreign country, a first-generation descendent (born in India or Pakistan but who has moved to the UK) or a second-generation (born in the UK).

The findings could have important implications for forensic science, for example, in a case where police needed to identify the author of a document or threatening letter.

Ian Turner, a Forensic Science lecturer at Derby, worked on the study with Forensic Science Programme Leader Julian Love and BSc (Hons) Forensic Science with Criminology student Rajvinder Kaur, who chose to concentrate on the Punjabi script.

"It wasnt quite a pangram we constructed, but a short paragraph which contained all of the characters of the Gurmukhi alphabet. The results were analysed and we have discovered these exciting trends in differences, which could help determine the writers origin," Turner said.

"The text the academics chose included not only all of the characters, but also the key matras (pronunciation) in order to gauge a comprehensive view of different writing styles," he said.

The first and second generation participants from across the UK, took part in a postal study where they submitted written passages for the scientists to examine, after an initial appeal for volunteers from among university students.

Other texts from residents native to Pakistan were also studied.

The team found clear class characteristics in each of the populations defined above in how individual letters are formed and general features of the text  that is how cursive or joined-up the writing is.

The study, 'Investigation of Class Characteristics in the Gurmukhi Handwriting of first and second Generation Punjabis', identified up to eight major differences between the writing styles of first and second generation Punjabi populations as well as numerous individual character differences.

The researchers determined that the writing style of an individual is determined during childhood by factors such as the teaching systems and styles employed.

"There are several different writing systems used to write the Punjabi script, the use of these systems depends on a number of factors including geographical location, local dialect and religious beliefs," Turner added.

Rajvinder, 22, said: "Our work shows some interesting patterns and trends that could be applied to other foreign scripts."