Dillinger's Fingerprints

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

Explain the principles and processes used in the analysis, comparison, evaluation, and verification of latent fingerprints. Latent prints are formed when the body’s natural oils and sweat on the skin are deposited onto another surface. Latent prints can be found on a variety of surface they are not readily visible and detection often requires the use of fingerprint powders, chemical reagents or alternate light sources. Generally speaking, the smoother and less porous a surface is, the greater the potential that any latent prints present can be found and developed. Investigators often perform cyanoacrylate processing, or fuming, of a surface before applying powders or dye stains. This process, typically performed on non-porous surfaces, involves exposing the object to cyanoacrylate vapors. The vapors will adhere to any prints present on the object allowing them to be viewed with oblique ambient light or a white light source. (Latent, n.d)

Fingerprints fall into the category of individualisation, they are unique and specific to a person and is the most common form of identification because even twins do not have same finger prints (Jones & Pritchard, 2012). This evidential material would have been formed when Mr Port dragged his victims to the church or when he had touched them during sexual contact. Fingerprints are always visualised using a range of special techniques such as using light source, various chemicals, brushing with powders and staining with dyes (White, 2010), all these techniques need to be able to react with fingerprints so that print is seen with a naked eye. This evidence can easily identify the individual that has committed the

Fingerprints can be taken from a crime scene in various methods. Fingerprints are classified into three categories depending on the surface they are found. Fingerprints on soft surfaces are most likely to be three-dimensional plastic prints such as soap, wax, wet paint, fresh caulk, etc. (“A Simplified Guide To Fingerprint Analysis”, n.d). The fingerprints on hard surfaces are patent or latent prints including blood, dirt, ink, paint, etc. transferred from a finger or thumb to a surface (“A Simplified Guide To Fingerprint Analysis”, n.d). Patent prints can be collected using photography. The prints are photographed in high resolution with a forensic measurement scale for the image for reference. There are multiple methods for discovering and collecting latent prints. Alternate Light Source (ALS) use

Each individual gave five right thumb prints. Another advantage of this experimental design was that these fingerprints were not collected on the same day, even for the same individual. The purpose of this was to show that amino acids within a person can vary marginally day to day, but there is a noticeable difference between men and women. Also, the prints were deposited on the exact same surfaces which ensures a controlled environment. This would allow for more accurate testing without the presence of unwanted variables. The surfaces included a door knob, a desk, a chair, a bench, and a computer. All fingerprints were removed with polyethylene film.

The main provision in all cases is the avoidance of including fingerprints to evidence, or of ruining the ones already existing at the time. Once the crime scene has been carefully recorded and each of the evidence located have been annotated, then the process of gathering and analyzing can commence. The crime scene investigator will start by collecting the most delicate and easily prone to be lost evidence. Locating latent fingerprints at the crime scene requires use of techniques that makes it ideal for visibility. Investigators will use a several of methods to visualize the print, however it will depend on the surface that print is being lifted from. All non-movable and fixed items at a crime scene sustained to be handled on the scene using one of

FINGERPRINT EXPERIMENT2AbstractLatent print residue is a combination of many substances excreted from the body. Latent print residues may be left from natural sweat on the skin or from a contaminant such as motor oil, blood, ink, paint or some other form of dirt. They may exhibit only a small portion of the surface of a finger and may be smudged, distorted, overlapped by other prints from the same, or from different individuals, or all of these in combination. The factors that affect the quality or presenceof latent prints include the conditions involved between friction skin contact and the objects that are touched. Pre-transfer conditions describe the condition of the friction skin and the amount and type of residue on the skin; and are affected

The introduction of the modern use of fingerprinting all started in 1984, when a British geneticist named Alec Jeffreys came across new methods for DNA fingerprinting (Jones, 2012). Since his discovery, this technique has been used successfully to identify perpetrators of crimes. For more than a century in fact, fingerprints have been used as identification tools by law enforcement. Known as “friction ridge analysis,” (Jones, 2012), this forensic method comprises of examiners comparing details of an unknown print against known prints. These details are analyzed

In this phase a variable light source was used to excite the fingerprint residue. This was done to obtain fluorescence from the fingerprint residue. Various spectral filters and a range of camera settings accompanied with different light sources were tested to see if any fluorescence existed. The images were compared with each other to figure out if any sample shows florescence under any specific range of wavelengths. Since, we were unaware of the fact whether the fingerprints were contaminated during any experiment we used various wavelengths for the substances that might show fluorescence under different wavelengths. The level of detail in the images remained the same as the previous phase of research and

All over the world and as far as many people can remember, fingerprints have been used as a symbol of truth and justice in the forensics domain. The art of fingerprinting has been seen as a closure to many major crimes that have put many people in prison. However, in his article “Do Fingerprints Lie?” Michael Specter examines that fingerprinting has given rise to many questions as of the late 20th century. Fingerprints have been taken for granted, almost like money, which in this century, people believe is the best item to be handed to us. People tend to take what they hear, and just go with it without research or background knowledge. This practice has not been challenged as many concepts should. Specter brings in a solid argument with a lot of knowledge to support his claims and factual evidence to set his article with high credibility. While Specter builds a strong argument, he fails to consider how fingerprints have improved the forensic process.

From the early days, with little literary reference material, to the current day, with substantially more, but still insufficient formation, the science of fingerprint identification has managed to maintain its credibility and usefulness. Although, academic institutions have yet to recognize the field as an applied science and include it in the curricula, which would provide directed research and literary reference, in libraries. Without this academic recognition, progress in the field of fingerprint is destined to be sluggish. Description of fingerprint identification as a forensic science’ or an ~app1ied science’ in no way implies that is not a reliable science.

In addition, these ridge patterns or also known as the fingerprints produce essential function to our body where these fingerprints allow human beings to have better grip in our daily lives(Champod et al, 2016. pg.1). Consequently, the fingerprint’s unique characteristics have also provided significant functionality to the police agencies in terms of the identifications and individualization. According to the Hawthorme and (Textbook), forensic scientists have established three fundamental principals to fingerprinting throughout the long period of studies which include every finer contains ridge detail which is unique to that finger and no other(no two fingerprints are identical), a fingerprint remains unchanged throughout life, there are general ridge patterns on the fingerprints that can be systematically classified and therefore can be filled and searched(Textbook). These unique aspects or principals of the fingerprints are allowing the police agencies to conduct the criminal investigations and individualizations more efficiently. Even though our recent development in the technology and scientific knowledges have enhanced the usability of the fingerprints in the criminal investigation, the concept of the fingerprint as a individualization is not a newly developed

Law enforcement quickly gathers evidence after a crime because it is important to examine the evidence to get any information about who was at the crime scene and what happened. Fingerprints don’t stay on a surface long in a crowded or busy area because many people touch the same surface many times a day. In a secluded area fingerprints can stay much longer and will still be visible to investigators who are looking for evidence. Weather is also a big factor when looking for impression evidence. Weather conditions can wash away fingerprints or marks from tires, shoes, or bullets.

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.

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.