Alphonse Bertilon Essay

The flexibility of a ridge means that no two people have the same fingerprint. According to Maceo (2011), the morphology of friction ridge skin is a mere reflection of its functions. She states that ridges and sweat pores allow the hands to grasp things while the creases allow the skin to be flexible (Maceo, 2011).

scientific law enforcement in his creation of a mass fingerprint file in 1926 and the

For over a century fingerprints have been one of the most used tools of forensic science. Fingerprints have been used to identify criminals of small crimes

The next significant advancement in fingerprinting was achieved by an Englishman, Dr. Henry Faulds, who created a fingerprint classification method and suggested using printers’ ink to obtain quality fingerprints (The History of Fingerprints). Perhaps the most important advancement in fingerprinting came in 1892, when a British Anthropologist, Sir Francis Galton, published the book Fingerprints. For a while it had been thought that no two fingerprints were identical. However, Galton became the first to scientifically prove this, as well as the fact that fingerprints remain unchanged throughout a person’s life (The History of Fingerprints). It was these two facts that made fingerprinting the preferred method of identification.

samples of an individual’s fingerprint’s can be lifted from a crime scene. The breakthrough of

Alphonse Bertillon devised a system simply called, The Bertillon System. This was a first attempt at criminal identification and was thought to be reliable and accurate. Bertillon developed an anthropometric system of physical measurements of body parts, especially components of the head and face. This system was used primarily to determine if a person in custody had committed a previous crime. Archives of these records began to be compiled. A form of this system is still used today, but we now call them “mugshots”. (Bertillon System of Criminal Identification, 2011). Although mugshots are still used today, anthropometry was

Fingerprinting was still in the process of being developed. A classification scheme appeared in 1901 and first used in a trial in the UK in 1902. Dental records were non-existent and blood grouping only developed after the identification of the different types in 1901. From that it became possible to serologically identify other body fluids. DNA was not discovered until 1953 and the unique identification of individuals by DNA profiling did not follow until 1985. In 1910, an important principle of forensic science was established by Edmund Locart who suggested that every contact leaves a trace; a criminal will always carry away with him some trace from the scene of the crime and will leave behind some trace of his presence. This is the very foundation of forensic science that has led to the

A muzzle pattern could be either lifted on papers or taken as a photo [10]. The

Fingerprints have been used as a biometric measure for more than a century. It is one of the most well known and highly publicized techniques used to identify suspects in a crime. The fingerprint techniques identification has advanced from ink pads and paper to electronic recognition. Most techniques have become a wide accepted and reliable forms of biometrics. With the advancement in computer technology and chemical reagents, a fingerprint can be obtained from a burned corpse or a decomposed body. In the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s case, the fingerprint from gathered from the crime scene could only be verified by the ridges characteristic pattern of the finger. In the 1960's, The National Crime Information Center was a computerized filing

The beginnings of forensics science were very rudimentary, but an amazing science for that generation. One of the earliest known forensic scientists was a Roman lawyer named Quintilian, who was able to prove a man’s innocence by a bloody handprint, which was found at the scene, around 1000[A.D.]. (Lyle). Was it simple knowledge? Yes, however, this lead to further improvements as time progressed.

DNA Fingerprinting, also known as DNA Profiling, is a method used to identify a person using DNA patterns that are specific to him/her. 99.9% of DNA is identical in every human being, but .01% is enough to distinguish between people. It is most commonly used in criminal cases to link a criminal to his/her crime scene, but is also used for paternity/maternity tests, and immigration records. Usually a skin, hair, or body fluid sample is collected from a crime scene or criminal or test candidate, then DNA is extracted and cut using enzymes that recognize patterns in DNA and run through a gel by an electric current in a process called electrophoresis (Annely).

“Fingerprint recognition is one of the divorce inference using the impressions made by the minute ridge formations or patterns found on the fingertips. No two people have exactly the same arrangement of the ridge patterns, and the remaining patterns of any one individual unchanged. Fingerprints infallible provide a means of personal identification. Other personal characteristics may change, but not fingerprints”. (1)

Fingerprinting is used for many things, such as a robbery, or at a crime scene. Fingerprints were first discovered in 1870 by Alphonse Bertillon, who was a French anthropologist. In 1892, Juan Vucetich had made the first criminal report using a fingerprint. In 1905 America used fingerprints for identification. When America started using fingerprints for identification they had to match the fingerprints manually when needed. When technology was able to enter fingerprints, and match them with anonymous ones, it helped identification immensely.

In 1903, fingerprinting became the primary source of identification after an incident at the penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas (The Identification of the "West Brothers".) Before this time, the Bertillon System was the method for identification; classification and measurements of: body, arms, trunk, width and length of suspects head, along with length and width of ear, middle and little finger, and lastly the forearm, aside from eyewitness testimony these were the key methods of identification of suspects (The Identification of the "West Brothers".) During the intake process at the prison the clerk insisted that the prisoner Will West was a repeat offender because they already had his measurements and photograph on file (The Identification of the "West Brothers".) Will, protested that he had never been imprisoned there before and after additional investigation it was discovered that there was a man named William West who shared the same measurements along with a similar mugshot already incarcerated there since 1901 (The Identification of the "West Brothers".)

Every time somebody touches something, they leave behind a unique signature that forever links them to that object. This link is their fingerprints, which are unique to every person, for no two people have the same set, not even family members or identical twins. Palms and toes also leave prints behind, but these are far less commonly found during crime scene investigations. Therefore, fingerprints provide an identification process that is applicable to background checks, biometric security, mass disaster identification, and most importantly, crime scene investigations. Fingerprints are so differentiated because they are made up of distinct patterns of ridges and furrows on the fingers. The ridges are the “raised” portions of the prints, and the furrows are the “recessed” portions. This perceived uniqueness has led some people to falsely accept fingerprint analysis as absolute scientific fact. Although overall fingerprints are reliable, there are definitely situations where their accuracy can come into question.