Forensic Techniques Used By Investigators

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

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

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

That is a good question, one worth answering. Forensics is a scientific tool that has come to its own starting about the 80’s. Fingerprinting was one of the first techniques used to help in identifying the criminals that committed the heinous acts. Fingerprinting uses a brush and powder to enhance the ridge details on the fingertips adhering to the oils left behind. Another awesome way they have been able to pull prints off soft surfaces like bed sheets is by using superglue and heat. Fascinating isn’t it? Since then Forensics has become even more evolved. Fingerprints now go into a database known as AFIS or Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which has the prints of everyone

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

Early pioneers in the field of dermatoglyphics (the study of FRS patterns) demonstrated a strong correlation between the inheritance of fingerprint pattern and the overall size, shape and spacing of the ridges. The identifying ridge features, however, are not inheritable, which is what makes every fingerprint unique.

“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)

There are different types of patterns for fingerprints, there are Arches, Loops, and Whorls. An Arch is found in five percent of fingerprints encountered. There are two types of Arches a Plain Arch, and a Tented Arch. Therefore they are the rarest. Loops are found in sixty to seventy percent of fingerprints encountered. Therefore they are the most common. Whorls are found in twenty five to thirty five percent of fingerprints encountered. There are four types of fingerprints, the Plain Whorl, Central Pocket Whorl, Double Loop Whorl, and the Accidental Whorl.

Fingerprints, known for each person to have unique ones, are made of a series of ridges and furrows on the

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.