Peterborough Vote-Rigging Scandal
Three Labour Party officials who attempted to rig the 2004 local council elections in the town have been brought to justice with the help of the Forensic Science Service.
Cambridgeshire police launched an investigation into the scandal after complaints from 13 local people that they had been unable to cast their vote because it had already been used by somebody else.
Police were also suspicious of the high turnout of voters and the high proportion of postal votes cast.
Initial enquiries revealed hundreds of fraudulent postal vote applications had been made and in October 2004 officers from the force’s major investigation team launched Operation Hooper.
The Forensic Science Service’s Questioned Documents team were called in by police to assist in the huge investigation. A total of 1,230 exhibits were ultimately submitted to the team for examination and interpretation, in a case which relied upon handwriting analysis as the only forensic evidence.
The case concluded on April 7, 2008 at Kings Lynn Crown Court after a trial lasting nearly five months. Following two weeks of deliberation by the jury, former Peterborough Mayor Mohammed Choudhary, canvasser Maqbol Hussain and party secretary Tariq Mahmood were convicted of a total of 23 counts of forgery.
Documents examiner Karen Caramiello of the FSS said: “The scale of the police enquiry in this case was colossal. We were asked to look at literally hundreds of polling cards and applications for postal votes and carry out handwriting examination. A strategy for analysis of the documentation was put in place and many months of research identified eleven suspects based on identifying dominant handwriting styles.”
She continued: “We worked closely together with police and as key suspects were identified we carried out comparisons of their handwriting with postal votes and ballot slips. In the end we managed to find conclusive links between Choudhary, Hussain and Mahmood and the fraudulent voting documentation.”
Karen’s conclusions were accepted without question by two of the defendants. However, Mohammad Choudary failed to plead guilty throughout the trial and was convicted thanks to Karen’s work.
She was later awarded a Judges Commendation for her dedication, perseverance and professionalism.
Detective Chief Inspector Ian Tandy who led the investigation said: “This was a major investigation by Cambridgeshire Police, employing three times the number of officers used in the average murder trial. A decision was made at a very early stage to exclude all forensic opportunities apart from handwriting evidence and as such it was absolutely key.
The dedication and professionalism of Karen Caramiello and her team was vital in achieving all three convictions in this case.”
The investigation has received great interest from the Electoral Commission and other police forces with similar cases. Knowledge based on the use of handwriting evidence has been recommended and shared.