History of Fingerprinting
The Ancient World
• Ancient China –
documented use about
3000 years ago.
• Babylon – used for
identity on clay tablets
History of Fingerprinting
The Modern World
•
1686 – Marcello Malpighi
notices the ridges, spirals,
and loops.
•
•
1823 – John Purkinje published a
discussion of 9 fingerprint
patterns.
1858 – Sir William Herschel
required Indians to sign contracts
with hand prints and later with
fingerprints.
History of Fingerprinting
• 1888 – Sir Francis Galton
published “Finger Prints”
which discussed the
anatomy of fingerprints
and pattern types.
• 1880s– Dr. Henry Faulds
recognized the importance of
fingerprints as a means of
identification
History of Fingerprinting
• 1891 – Juan Vucetich created
a fingerprint classification
system in Argentina.
• 1897 - Sir Francis Galton and
Sir E.R. Henry developed the
classification system for
fingerprints that is still in use
today in the United States
and Europe. Referred to as
the Galton-Henry Method.
History of Fingerprinting
The United States
•
1901 – the New York City civil service
commission adopts fingerprinting for
personal identification of all applicants;
the first in the United States.
• 1903 – Will West case
http://82141360.weebly.com/will-west-case.html
•
1904 – World’s Fair in St. Louis:
representatives from Scotland
Yard train several U.S. Police
officials.
History of Fingerprinting
•
1906 – the United States Army began
using fingerprints.
•
1924 – the Identification
Division of the FBI was
established.
•
1948 – Introduction of the
Automated Fingerprint
Identification System
(AFIS)
•
1977 – the International
Association for Identification (IAI)
voted to establish the world’s first
certification program for
fingerprint experts.
History of Fingerprinting
• In 1999, the FBI developed the
Integrated Automated Fingerprint
Identification System (AFIS), which
provides digital, automated fingerprint
searches, latent searches, electronic
storage of fingerprint photo files, and
the electronic exchange of fingerprints
and test results.
i. AFIS contains nearly 50 million
fingerprint records.
ii. To use AFIS, an unknown print is scanned and entered
into a computer. The computer searches the AFIS
system and produces a list of file prints that match
closest with search print; this takes approximately 2
hours. A fingerprint expert then examines prints
and makes final verification on print’s identity.
History of Fingerprinting
• 2009 - AFIS is further expanded to
search though millions of records to
provide lists that are called “hits” that
can be verified by a certified Latent
Print Examiner.
•
2010 – the Integrated Automatic
Fingerprint Identification System
(IAFIS) operated by the FBI; Inquiring
agencies receive electronic responses
to criminal submissions within 2 hours.
• IAFIS isn't just used for criminal checks. It also collects
fingerprints for employment, licenses and social services
programs (such as homeless shelters). When all of these
uses are taken together, about one out of every six people
in this country has a fingerprint record on IAFIS.
History of Fingerprinting
• New scanning technology and
digital systems of identifying
patterns have helped to increase
the processing time and clarity
of fingerprints. Fingerprints can
now be scanned at the rate of
500 to 1,000 dots per inch. This
provides an image that reveals
minute pore patterns on the
fingerprint ridges, allowing for
even better pattern matching.
History of Fingerprinting
Technologies are currently being developed to use other
physical features to identify people as well, including eyes,
facial patterns, and the pattern of veins on the back of the
hand or creases on the palm.
• U.S. Marines take the retinal scans
and fingerprints of Iraqi residents
for their required biometric cards.
• Iris identification systems take only
about two seconds to scan the iris
and look for patterns. They're used
in some prisons and a few airports.
• Irises have more than 200 different
unique identifying characteristics
(about 6 times more than
fingerprints) ranging from rings to
freckles.
• The study of fingerprints for
identification purposes is known
as dactylography or dactyloscopy.
• Your fingers, toes, feet, palms, and
lips are covered with small ridges
that are raised portions of the
skin, arranged in connected units
called dermal, or friction, ridges.
• Ridges help us grip objects.
• Fingers accumulate natural secretions and dirt.
When the ridges press against things, they
leave a mark or impression called a
fingerprint.
• A ridge appears dark on a fingerprint
image; a valley appears light.
Fingerprints begin forming
near the 10th week of
pregnancy, when the fetus is
about 3 inches long.
Skin consists of 3 layers:
• Inner layer- dermis
• Outer layer- epidermis
• Basal layer in between
In a fetus, the basal layer
cells grow faster than the
layers above and below it
so it collapses and folds to
form intricate shapes.
Fingerprint residue originates from glands in the subcutaneous
skin. Apocrine and eccrine glands are commonly referred to as
sweat glands.
• Apocrine glands
are associated
with hair follicles.
• Eccrine glands are
primarily located
on the ridges of the
hands and feet.
Two things a forensic examiner looks for on a
fingerprint are the presence of a core and deltas.
i. The core is the center of a loop or whorl.
ii. A triangular region located near a loop is called a delta.
Arch – 5%
Loop – 65%
Whorl – 30%
Appearance
Description
Have ridges that
Have ridges that
Have at least one
enter from one side
of the fingerprint and enter from either the ridge that makes a
complete circuit.
leave from the other right or the left and
Look like a bull’sside with a rise in the exit from the same
side they enter.
eye, with two deltas.
center.
Types of Arches
 Plain arch- Ridges enter
on one side and exit on
the other side.
 Tented arch- has a spike
in the center
Types of Loops
These patterns are named
for their positions related to
the radius and ulna bones:
 Radial Loop (Right
Thumb)-Loop opens
toward the left or the
radial bone.
 Ulnar loop (Right
Thumb)- Loop opens
toward right or the ulna
bone
NOTE: On the left hand, a loop
that opens to the left would be an
ulnar loop, while one that opens
to the right would be a radial loop.
Types of Whorls
Draw a line between the
two deltas in the plain and
central pocket whorls. If
some of the curved ridges
touch the line, it is a plain
whorl. If none of the center
core touches the line, it is a
central pocket whorl.
 Plain whorl
 Central pocket whorl
 Double loop whorlmade up of 2 loops
combined into 1 print
 Accidental whorl- does
not clearly fall under any
of the other categories
Right Hand
Left Hand
Right Hand
Right Hand
Left Hand
a. While looking at the basic fingerprint patterns can quickly
help eliminate a suspect, in order to positively match a
print found at a crime scene to an individual, more
information is needed.
b. Every individual, including identical twins,
has a unique fingerprint resulting from
unique ridge patterns called minutiae
(called this because the details are so
minute or small).
c. Minutiae are points where print
ridges come together or end; they
are considered to be the
“uniqueness” of an individual.
d. FBI has found that no two individuals have more than 8
common minutiae.
Many fingerprint experts use this “twelve-match
guideline”. When a fingerprint expert takes the witness
stand and says he’s absolutely certain two fingerprints
match, he means he’s found at least twelve or more
matching minutiae.
To take a ridge count, an
imaginary line is drawn
from the center of the core
to the edge of the delta and
intersecting ridges are
counted.
 What is the ridge count for
this fingerprint?
8
i. Patent fingerprints, or visible prints,
are left on a smooth surface when
blood, ink, paint, grease, or some
other liquid comes in contact with the
hands and is then transferred to that
surface.
ii. Plastic fingerprints are actual
indentations left in some soft
material such as clay, putty, or wax.
iii. Latent fingerprints are caused
by the transfer of oils and other
body secretions onto a surface.
1. Latent fingerprints are not visible to the
naked eye but can be made visible by
using chemicals.
2. To dust for fingerprints, dust surfaces
with a fine carbon powder to make a
fingerprint more visible. Tape can then
be used to lift and preserve the
fingerprint.
Metal or magnetic
powders can also
be used to lift
fingerprints.
Chemical
Ninhydrin
Fingerprint
Surface
Paper
Application
Chemical
Reaction
Object dipped
Reacts with
or sprayed in
amino acids
Ninhydrin;
found in sweat
Wait 24 hours
Appearance
of Print
Purpleblue print
Ninhydrin is a chemical that bonds with the amino
acids in fingerprints and will produce a blue or
purple color. It is used to lift prints from surfaces
such as paper and cardboard.
Chemical
Fingerprint
Surface
Application
Chemical
Reaction
Appearance
of Print
Cyanoacrylate
Vapor
Household
items: plastic,
metal, glass,
and skin
Heat sample in
a vapor tent
Reacts with
amino acids
White print
The cyanoacrylate fuming method
(often called the super glue
method) is a procedure that is used
to develop latent fingerprints on a
variety of objects.
Chemical
Silver
Nitrate
Fingerprint
Surface
Wood,
Styrofoam
Application
Chemical
Reaction
Appearance
of Print
Object dipped
or sprayed in
Silver Nitrate
Chloride from salt
in sweat on the
print combines with
silver nitrate to
form silver chloride
Black or redbrown print
under UV
light
Silver nitrate reacts to the salt deposits in sweat.
Processing with silver nitrate is a two step process. First
spray a layer of silver nitrate on the object or dip the
object in a solution. Once this is done the object should
be exposed to a carbon vapor light or sunlight. Once the
prints have developed they should be photographed and
promptly removed from the light source.
Chemical
Fingerprint
Surface
Iodine
Fuming
Paper,
Cardboard,
Unpainted
surfaces
Application
Chemical
Reaction
Appearance
of Print
In a vapor tent,
heat solid iodine
crystals
Iodine
combines
with
carbohydrates
in latent print
Brown print
(fades quickly)
must be
photographed
The iodine print will gradually
fade away if left in the open air.
To preserve it, you can spray it
with a little hair spray.
The primary precaution in all cases is the prevention
of adding fingerprints to evidence, or of destroying
those already present.
i.
Investigators should wear gloves at all times,
and avoid handling evidence as much as possible.
ii. Most fingerprints will be on paper, glass, metal,
or other smooth surfaced objects. When
articles containing latent prints must be picked
up, touch as little as possible, and then only in
areas least likely to contain identifiable latent
prints, such as rough surfaces.
iii. While gloves or handkerchiefs may be used to
pick up such exhibits, any unnecessary contact
should be avoided. Although using a cloth to pick
up exhibits prevents leaving additional prints on
the articles, the cloth will frequently wipe off or
smear any prints originally present, unless great
care is taken.
iv. Precautions should be taken
when marking evidence so
not to damage or destroy
potential latent fingerprints.
v. Papers and documents containing
latent prints should be placed
individually in a cellophane or
manila envelope. Such a container
can be sandwiched between
two sheets of stiff cardboard,
wrapped, and placed in a box for
mailing.
a. A fingerprint is an individual characteristic;
no two people have identical ridge patterns.
b. A fingerprint pattern remains unchanged
during a person’s lifetime.
• However, a print may change due to
permanent scars or skin diseases.
• Criminals have sought to alter their
fingerprints with chemicals, surgery, and
superficial destruction. Most attempts
at fingerprint alteration have not been
successful. Fingerprints dissolved by acid
will grow back. Scars on fingers make
prints even more unique.
c. Fingerprints have general ridge patterns that allow them
to be systematically identified.
Practice: Look at the Latent Print and Known Print
below. Are they a match? Explain.
While they do look similar and have 6 common minutiae, they do not meet
the twelve-match guideline. Therefore one cannot say with confidence that
they are from the same individual.