The Development and Study of Fingerprints

When it comes to identifying people that have committed a criminal act, the most positive means is through fingerprints. When we are born, our fingerprints stay with us until we die and our bodies start decomposing. To the human eye our fingerprints look the same, however, further investigation will show that each of us have a unique set of friction ridges that comprise our fingerprints and sets our identity apart from each other. At a crime scene, there are two different types of fingerprints that may be found. Patent prints are visible to the human eye. Latent prints are “unintentional prints found on items of

In this report, I will introduce the discovery process of fingerprint identification technology at first, and then talk about its impact on the detection of cases. Introduce some basic information about Information technology. Additionally, discuss the technology 's influence of IT industry with the development of fingerprint identification technology, such as Apple Company. After the discussion, I will analyze the application of fingerprint identification technology, and what impact this technology will have in the future. Moreover, analyzing how this technology influences IT industry with Porter 's 5 Forces Model. Finally, analyze advantages and disadvantages of Apple Company (IPhone) through the use of fingerprint identification technology.

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.

for criminal gain; law enforcement also benefit from the latest technology. DNA is a technology

Tracing back to April of 1995 to the present, the development and advancements of DNA databases have significantly progressed, allowing it to have the capabilities it has today. In 1995, the first government national DNA database was established in the United Kingdom for the purpose of collecting genetic information from criminals. This idea has since progressed to encompass the genetic information of all citizens. This information will be derived from human material. There is controversy over the idea of expanding from criminals to all citizens due to a threat to human privacy. Although this controversy was rooted in England, over 60 other countries have come to adopt the database system, thus causing the controversy to expand to all of these other countries ("Is It Ethical To Have A National DNA Database?"). Some of these countries include New Zealand, France, and even the United States. In the United States, the government started a project known as CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) in 1994. CODIS is the FBI 's program that allows forensic DNA laboratories to create and search databases of DNA profiles. The federal DNA Identification Act of 1994 authorized the FBI to create CODIS and set national standards for forensic DNA testing. Since 1994, the debate has expanded from having only the genetic information of criminals to having every citizen 's information in one file.

Department of Justice. Today DNA testing is used regularly to convict criminals as fingerprints have in the past. The Department of Justice states that in 1998, the FBI created the National DNA Index System (NDIS), which currently links 42 states. Today there are genetic profiles for more than one million criminals stored in this database, and soon all 50 states are expected to participate in the NDIS. That is a great example of an effective use of DNA Fingerprinting and security.

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

Fingerprints are detailed, difficult to alter, and permanent over the life of a person, which makes them suitable as a long-term identifier of an individual. They also can be used to identify people who are deceased in the aftermath of a crime. The recovery of fingerprints from a scene is an important part of forensics in identifying a possible suspect. Blood is often found at various types of crime scenes, such as homicide, assault, rape, robbery and burglary. Blood type can be an identifying factor to assist investigators to narrow the search for a suspect. With DNA typing technologies, an individual bloodstain can now be used to identify an individual of a crime or a suspect. Blood spatter can also be used to identify which hand a person used during a stabbing, the direction of a shot and even the distance of the shot from the victim.

“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)

Even with the advanced state of forensic sciences some surfaces and circumstances prove difficult to successfully lift, or even detect, fingerprints from. There are now several methods of enhancing latent fingerprints for collection. These methods use chemicals, light sources and other techniques to enhance latent ridge marks on materials that prove difficult to successfully identify and lift prints from. These surfaces include certain types of metals, porous surfaces, and certain kinds of paper. We will discuss three types of latent finger print enhancement that are relatively new or still in the beginning stages of testing, two chemical, elctrochromism and yellow

The next major breakthrough came from the discovery that each individual fingerprint was unique. The concept was first revealed in a paper written by Henry Faulds and William James Herschel; later Francis Galton applied the science behind their findings for criminal investigations. Galton was able to distinguish the patterns of fingerprints and determine whether they are actual or accidental. The first investigator to use this method in a criminal investigation was Juan Vucetich, an Argentinean police officer in 1892. However, even with sweeping advancements in forensic science fingerprinting still didn’t catch on. Scotland yard finally adopted the Galton-Henry system in 1901, New York state followed behind them when in 1903 it implemented the first prison fingerprint identification system.

Select an example of a commonly used method of fingerprint development for a non-porous surface. After selecting a method:

Fingerprints are one of the most compelling forms of physical evidence used in criminal investigations and the most commonly found forensic evidence at a crime scene [Adebsi 2009]. A fingerprint from a crime scene may assist a forensic investigator in identifying the individual who deposited it. However, significant gaps remain in the understanding of fingerprint chemistry including, the effect of environmental conditions, ageing kinetics and evolution over time, on its chemical composition. Determining the age of a fingerprint is a relatively unexplored area of research and is dependent on a deeper understanding of the above factors. A successful method for determining the age of a fingerprint with reliable and quantifiable estimates, would

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.

The purpose of this experiment was to determine how different surface temperatures affect the appearance of latent finger prints. In order to run this experiment, thirty Standard Select Carolina Microscope Slides were wiped with rinsed with tap water then blotted dry with Kimwipes. Ten microscope slides were chilled to negative nineteen degrees Celsius, ten others were left out, resulting in a temperature of twenty-three degrees Celsius, and another ten were incubated to thirty-seven degrees Celsius. After five minutes the slides were removed from the freezer and a thumb print, using Alex’s left thumb, was placed on each slide. Alex’s thumb was used as a general representation of the public, as while no fingerprints can be the exact same;