fingerprints

when do fingerprints develop?

Fingerprints develop in womb at ~20 weeks

Formed by interactions between epidermis, dermis and environmental factors (movement, pressure, fluid flow)

Once formed, ridge patterns do not change, but enlarge with growth

Sir William Herschel 1833-1917

Oversaw pension payments signed by fingerprints

Observed fingerprints were unique

Introduced fingerprint signing for identity verification

Studied prints, helping establish principle of persistence - idea that fingerprints remain unchanged throughout life

Principle of Persistency

Fingerprints form in womb ~20 weeks

Stay same throughout life

Even after death, patterns remain identifiable

Fingerprints grow in size but pattern never changes

 

Dr Henry Faulds 1843-1936

Medical missionary and early fingerprint researcher

First to describe ridges, furrows and their forensic potential

Argued that they could:

• Show individual identity

• Be left on surfaces

• Be used to identify suspects or exclude the innocent

Published rigorous work supporting fingerprints as evidence

Belper Committee 1900

A home office led by Lord Belper

Evaluated fingerprint and anthropometric identification methods

Approved fingerprinting for police use in UK

Led to creation of Met Police Fingerprint Branch

Other UK forces soon adopted system

Automated Fingerprint Recognition

identifies landmarks in print

where do they come from?

Early computerisation

1984- New Scotland Yard installed first UK computerised fingerprint system

Before 1990s each force kept its own fingerprint records, so searching beyond local files was slow and required manual transfer

National Rollout

1992- UK forces gained shared access to a single national database

Fingerprints digitalised and entered into a unifies system

 

NAFIS

National automated fingerprint identification system

Developed in 1995 operational by 1999

All UK forces uploaded

• Fingerprints of arrested persons

• Crime scene fingerprint marks

2001 - NAFIS went live across England & Wales

Scotland has separate system

Provided nationwide comparison and rapid suspect identification

IDENT1- modern system

Introduced in 2004 upgrade to NAFIS

Enhanced:

Search accuracy

Data entry

Workflow efficiency

Supports Livescan devices: digital, inkless fingerprint capture

Allows improved data quality and faster results

livescan and portable identification

Livescan (Custody Suites)

Captures fingerprints digitally

Provides immediate feedback on print quality

Allows instant retake

Faster and cleaner than ink methods

Portable fingerprint devices

Used by officer in field

Confirms identity if individual is already on database

Cannot identify people with no prior record

papillary ridges and their functions

• Ridges run parallel lines across finger, palm, toes, sole

• Furrows appear as white lines in inked or scanned image

• Functions include:

Friction - grip

Enhanced touch sensitivity

Channels for sweat pores - help develop latent prints at scenes

 

fingerprint recovery at scenes

Latent prints may require:

• Powdering

• Chemical enhancement

• Lighting and photography

Choice of technique depends on surface type and environment

basic patterns

delta

core

fingerprint patterns

• Plain arch

• Tented arch

• Plain loop

• Converging loop

• Nutant loop

• Spiral whorl

• Twinned loops

• Lateral pocket

• Composite

• Accidental

 

plain arch

tented arch

plain loop

converging loop

nutant loop

spiral whorl

twinned loops

composite

an arch with any other pattern

accidental

totally random - don’t fit into any other category

Galton details/characteristics

• Ridge ending

• Bifurcation

• Lake

• Independent ridge

• Spur

• Crossover

ridge ending

when ridge comes to an abrupt ending

bifurcation

when ridge splits in two

lake

ridge into bifurcation and then rejoins - leaves a kind of hole

independent ridge

little section of ridge on its own

spur

ridge splits into bifurcation - one stops and one carries on

crossover

ridge splits and crosses over another one

fingerprint patterns

Fingerprints are same (from scene vs suspect) if the ridge characteristics are…

Same in both impressions

In same order and relationship to each other in both impressions

All In agreement with none in disagreement