Fingerprints And Fingerprints Of Fingerprints

One of the most common evidence an investigator deals with on a daily basis is fingerprints. Everyone has them, and they are unique to every single person. There are no two alike. Fingerprints, unless altered by scarring or other means, are

In quadrants 1 and 2 how the amount and constituents of the fingerprint residue on the substrate affects the fingerprint image, is determined. In quadrant 1, excess sebum and moisture is first removed from the finger tips with the help of a clean cloth. In quadrant 2, fingertip is first wiped around the nose or forehead to create excess sebum. Quadrant 3 and 4 were used to compare the details between untreated and dusted fingerprint residues.

Lee, H. (2001). Advances in Fingerprint Technology, Second Edition, 2nd Edition. Retrieved January 26, 2015, from Vital Source: http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781420041347

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

On the morning of May 6, 2004 Attorney Brandon Mayfield was arrested by the FBI at his office in Portland Oregon for being suspected of involvement in the “March 11, 2004 bombings of four commuter trains in Madrid, Spain that killed 191 people and injured over 2,000 others” due to a fingerprint found on a plastic bag (Sherrer). Fingerprint analysis “has been used to identify criminals for more than one hundred years. The process begins with a deposited, or ‘latent,’ print found at the scene of the crime” (“Fingerprint Analysis”). If the print is detailed enough, fingerprint analysts can visually compare the print from the crime scene to the fingerprints of a suspect. They compare “qualities such as the general shape of the prints, the shape and depth of the ridges in the print, and the length of each ridge” (“Fingerprint Analysis”). It has been said time and time again that no two people’s fingerprints are exactly alike, and that if the latent print and the suspect’s print match, the print must be theirs. This assertion, however, “is not based on any studies, research, or analysis. In other words, there is no scientific basis for the belief that fingerprints are unique to each person” (“Fingerprint Analysis”). The main problem with fingerprint analysis, as with bite mark analysis, is its subjectivity. Instead of “relying on tested scientific methods, the process is mostly based on the subjective beliefs of the analyst” (“Fingerprint Analysis”). This basically means that “because of the lack of validity of the testing and retesting process” and the “overall subjectivity of the process indicates that the analyst is not truly absolutely certain of anything – except the fact that he or she truly believes a match” (“Fingerprint Analysis”). In Brandon Mayfield’s case, the print in question “had been positively identified as Mayfield’s by three highly qualified

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

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).

A question that has risen in many minds regarding positive identifications is that of accuracy, especially so when it comes to fingerprinting. This is because of the lack of scientific research into fingerprinting itself and a lack of objective standards causing fingerprinting to no longer be the golden standard of forensic science.

The automated Fingerprint Identification System is also known as the AFIS within the law enforcement division (FBI, 2010). This system is an important element in the criminal justice system as some of its features encompass the storing of data, encoding, and fingerprint and facial comparison through graphics and other techniques. Law officials many centuries ago in the pursuit of positively identifying someone suspected of guilt have long used fingerprints techniques. Fingerprinting is also used in branches of our government, and in the Pentagon, the authentication method of fingerprints is used permit access to specified zones inside the building. Fingerprints are an effective and very precise method of identification purposes that does not pose

“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)

Fingerprints are formed during the first, third to fourth months of fetal development. While growing (in the womb) the fingerprint and the ridges will expand. A fingerprint stays the same from when

According to Jain Anil, fingerprint-based identification is the oldest method which has been successfully used in numerous applications and though Bertillon’s anthropometry raised many valid points in forensic science, it was discarded and replaced by the fingerprint identification method after Bertillon’s death 1914.

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.