Fingerprinting

Fingerprint Analysis

History:

The fact that no two person’s fingerprints are the same was first discovered and written about by Sir Francis Galton in the 1890s and has been used in crime investigations ever since.

Types:

Direct: Collect directly from the subject normally in processing and placed into a system. Collected with ink or fingerprint software rolled from edge to edge.

Latent: Prints that are allowed processing by the residue left behind that made the fingerprint (sweat, oil, etc.). Can be smudged and less detailed ridges than that of other prints.

Plastic: Clearly visible prints left on a material that retains shape and ridges of finger. Left behind carelessly on candles, putty, or some moldable material.

Techniques/Chemicals:

Livescan devices, Latent fingerprint detection, ethyl cyanoacrylate polymerization, Vacuum metal deposition, application of fine powders, and work by adhesion, argon ion lasers: fluorescent techniques



Whorls



Shapes and Patterns:





loops



arches

"IIHA Beginner's Hand Analysis: The Four Fingerprint Types." International Institute of Hand Analysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. <http://www.handanalysis.net/beginners

Lifting and Collecting Procedures:

Hinge lifters, rubber lifters:  and cellophane tape: clear adhesive tapes are used to remove prints. Clear prints should be placed on a dark contrasting background.