04 Fingerprints

kh00116_CH04.
indd Page 70 8/20/08 9:56:44 PM u-s081 /Volumes/110/KHUS021/indd%0/Ch 04
Chapter 4 Fingerprints
Objectives
After reading this chapter, you will understand:
• Why fingerprints are individual evidence.

• Why there may be no fingerprint evidence
at a crime scene.
• How computers have made personal
identification easier.
You will be able to:
• Define the three basic properties that allow

individual identification by fingerprints.
• Obtain an inked, readable fingerprint for
each finger.
• Recognize and classify the three general ridge
patterns (loops, whorls, and arches) and apply
them to the primary Henry-FBI classification.
• Identify and compare friction ridge
characteristics and compare two fingerprints
with at least ten points of identification.
• Tell the differences among latent, plastic,
and visible fingerprints.
• Develop latent prints using physical and
chemical methods.
• Use simple probability theory to estimate odds.
• Identify questions and concepts that guide
scientific investigations.
70
kh00116_CH04.indd Page 71 8/20/08 9:56:47 PM u-s081 /Volumes/110/KHUS021/indd%0/Ch 04
“Fingerprints cannot lie, but liars can

make fingerprints.”
—unknown
71
At the Crime Scene

Teacher Note
The TRCD for this chapter A burglar approached a house from the backyard late one evening, knowing
includes a PowerPoint
that the owners were not at home. He tried and failed to pry open several
presentation, which is an
overview of the windows behind a flowerbed. Finally, he broke
chapter. It can be a windowpane with the old pry bar he carried;
used as introductory Fewer than 15 percent of
burglaries are solved after one
reached through, scraping his shirtsleeve against
material or at the end
hour has gone by. Right after a jagged shard of glass; and turned the latch. He
as a review.
the crime, a “hot search” may raised the window, not thinking about how soft
The TRCD also find the burglar in the vicinity.
contains a crossword the putty was when his fingers touched the glass.
Later, a “cold search” is usually
puzzle that can be unproductive. The trail grows
He climbed in over the sill and was promptly bitten
used after students cold very rapidly. on the leg by the owner’s golden Lab, provoking
have learned the a sharp blow to the dog’s head with the pry bar.
vocabulary from this
chapter. The burglar then went upstairs to the bedrooms to
collect jewelry. On his way out through the kitchen, he took a bite from a
Teacher Note piece of cheddar cheese that was on the counter. Feeling pretty good about
Evidence at the scene might his haul despite his bloody leg, he left a note on a pad near the cheese:
include: fingerprints, footprints, “Thanks for everthing,
bite marks, pry bar impressions, sukkers.” He unlatched the
fabric, blood, handwriting.
Potential evidence might also
back door and disappeared
be found with the suspect: into the misty night.
fingerprints, shoe prints, the pry
bar, dog hair, the torn shirtsleeve,
What evidence could
blood type, DNA, handwriting and link the burglar to the
poor spelling, damaged pants burglary? Make a list.
leg, wounds on leg, broken glass,
soil, stolen jewelry,
teeth.
Burglar
Magnified finger ridges
72 Chapter 4
kh00116_CH04.indd Page 73 7/18/08 1:25:06 PM elhi-8 /Volumes/110/KHUS021/indd%0/Ch 04
Let’s concentrate on just the fingerprints for now. Just fingerprint: an imprint made
what is a fingerprint? A fingerprint is an impression by ridge patterns on the tip of a
of the pattern of ridges on the last joint of a person’s finger; also used to describe the
finger. Properties that make a fingerprint useful for characteristic pattern of DNA
identification are: (1) its unique, characteristic ridges; fragments
(2) its consistency over a person’s lifetime; and (3) the microns: A micron is
systematic classification used for fingerprints. one-millionth of a meter or
one-thousandth of a millimeter.
Are humans the only species to have fingerprints?
Why do we have them? Ridge patterns may be an
Teacher Note
evolutionary development that provides a better grip, makes perspiration
A most interesting treatise on
easier on a hairless surface, and improves the sense of touch. The fingers,
the history of fingerprints can
for example, are so sensitive that a vibration with a movement of 0.02 be found in Chapter 1 of Lee
microns (2 × 10−5 mm) can be detected. Apes and monkeys also have and Gaensslen’s Advances in
ridge patterns on their fingers and toes. Fingerprint Technology.
The History of Fingerprints

Fingerprints left in clay by early artisans and scribes served as a kind
of signature. During China’s T’ang dynasty (eighth century AD), clerks
used inked fingerprints on business contracts; this practice was not so
different from using a chop mark or, in Europe, a
seal as a mark of authenticity. A number of people dactyloscopy: the study of
throughout history made note of fingerprints and fingerprints. The word is derived
even commented on the different ridge patterns, from the Greek daktulos, meaning
but the science of dactyloscopy, the study of finger.
fingerprints, really started in the 19th century in
India with William Herschel.
Herschel was a highly placed British civil servant
who decided to require Indians to add their
fingerprint to contracts. Later (in 1877) he “When bloody finger marks
or impressions on clay, glass,
introduced the use of fingerprints as a means of etc. exist, they may lead to
identifying prisoners. Meanwhile, in Japan, molded the scientific identification of
fingerprints in old pottery piqued the interest criminals. Already I have had
of Henry Faulds, a health missionary in Tokyo experience in two such cases. . . .
There can be no doubt as to the
who published a scientific paper in 1880 about advance of having, besides their
the possibility of using fingerprints to identify photographs, a nature-copy of
criminals. Like Herschel, Faulds thought that the forever unchangeable finger
fingerprints were unique; he also claimed that furrows of important criminals.”
fingerprints did not change over a lifetime and that —Henry Faulds in Nature,
October 28, 1880
they could be classified for sorting purposes to help
Fingerprints 73
in identification. He described an ink-and-transfer method of recording

prints, and was the first to use fingerprints to solve a crime.
Henry Faulds found
bits of pottery Identification has always been a problem for the criminal justice
In the sands of the system. Throughout history, prisoners were often branded or tattooed
Japan Sea or even had hands or fingers chopped off so they would be recognized
From prints in clay as criminals. This practice was generally abolished in the Western
To images today world in the early 1800s. Police recorded descriptions of individuals,
He started dactyloscopy even employing men with “photographic” memories. The advent of
photography helped, but without a means of classification, the police
records were soon overwhelmed with too many photographs to be
useful.
In 1881 Alphonse Bertillon, employed as a ledger clerk at the police
headquarters in Paris, suggested using certain body measurements as
discriminating characteristics to identify habitual offenders. Bertillon first
recommended recording 11 measurements, such as height, reach, width of
head, length of foot, and so on. Over the years, a very consistent method of
measurement, description, and classification was worked out, and by the end
of the 19th century it was accepted almost everywhere. The science of human
measurements is called anthropometry.
Francis Galton, a British anthropologist, studied both dactyloscopy
Bertillon’s foot measurement and Bertillon’s anthropometry. In 1891 and 1892, he published
two books in which he showed how to classify
anthropometry: the study fingerprints using loops, whorls, and arches, as
of human body measurements. well as a secondary, more complex method. Most
The word is derived from the Greek
important, however, he showed that a person’s
anthropos, meaning man.
fingerprints stay the same from birth until
death, that no two fingerprints are identical, that
In 1883 Mark Twain published Life on prints cannot be altered, and that it is possible to
the Mississippi, in which fingerprints classify a very large number of prints.
were used as evidence to solve a crime.
He used this theme again in 1894 By 1897, working with Galton, Edward Richard
in his story “Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Henry, inspector general of police in Bengal, India,
Wilson,” in which a lawyer’s hobby had simplified Galton’s classification system and
of collecting fingerprints proved the
established the Henry classification system of
innocence of two friends. This was
two years after Galton’s articles identification in India, replacing Bertillon’s method.
were published. Scotland Yard adopted Henry’s system in 1901.
Today, most English-speaking countries use some
form of the Henry system.
GO TO www.scilinks.org
TOPIC biometrics
CODE forensics2E74
74 Chapter 4
kh00116_CH04.indd Page 75 8/21/08 3:31:52 PM newuser /Volumes/110/KHUS021/indd%0/Ch 04
In 1901 an Argentinean police official, Juan Vucetich, set up a workable

fingerprint classification system based on Galton’s method that has
been refined and is used in Spanish-speaking countries. A year later,
Vucetich first officially identified a criminal using fingerprints. In a
small town in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, a woman
named Francesca Rojas had murdered her two sons and blamed the
attack on a neighbor. Using Vucetich’s methods, police identified
bloody fingerprints on a doorpost as Rojas’s, which led to her
confession.
The death knell of Bertillon’s anthropometric classification system
supposedly came at Leavenworth Prison in 1903 when a man named
Will West arrived there to serve time. As was done with all prisoners
on admission, his Bertillon measurements were taken and compared
to existing fi les. Prison officials were astonished to find that another Alphonse Bertillon 1853–1914
man who was serving a life term for murder
had almost identical measurements (see Table
4.1); even more amazing, his name was William
Bertillon invented an ID
West, and he looked almost the same as the
new prisoner! Subsequently, the two men’s Based, in part, upon physiognomy
fingerprints were taken and, of course, were It was the best
quite different. Until Willy West,
Then it failed with ignominy.
Table 4.1: Bertillon Measurement Comparison of Will West and William West
Will West’s William West’s
Measurements, Measurements,
Body Part in cm in cm
Body height 178.5 177.5
Outstretched reach of both arms 187.0 188.0
Trunk height 91.2 91.3
Width of the head 19.7 19.8
Length of the head 15.8 15.9
Length of the right ear 14.8 14.8
Width of the right ear 6.6 6.5
Length of the left foot 28.2 27.5
Length of the left middle finger 12.3 12.2
Length of the left little finger 9.7 9.6
Length of the left forearm unavailable 50.3
Fingerprints 75
In the early 1900s, the fingerprint system

was adopted by a number of agencies in the
United States. In 1924 the Identification
Division of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) was formed; by 1946 it
held 100 million fingerprint cards. Currently,
the FBI has more than 250 million sets of
fingerprint records; if piled on top of each
other, these records would make 133 stacks as
high as the Empire State Building!
Will West William West
The Anatomy of Fingerprints

Human skin is the body’s first line of defense against invasion and
infection (see Figure 4.1). The hills and valleys (ridges and grooves) you saw
when examining your fingers with a magnifying glass make up the skin
pattern that is yours alone. Friction ridges, as they are called, can also be
found on your palms, feet, and lips. Most amazing, the patterns made by
the friction ridges are not genetically controlled, so even identical twins
who have the same “DNA fingerprint” will have different fingerprints!
Skin is made up of an outer epidermal layer separated from the inner dermal
layer by the papillae. The papillae form a boundary that determines the
bifurcation
ridge ending
epidermis
sweat pore
sweat gland duct dermis
nerve ending papillae
nerve
vein sweat gland

Figure 4.1 Cross section of human skin
76 Chapter 4
friction ridge structure of the epidermis. Chemically

or physically erasing the epidermal structure, as John
Dillinger tried to do, causes only pain because the original
print will soon grow back. Sweat pores along the ridges
release perspiration, which is 98 to 99 percent water.
It is estimated that a fingerprint initially may weigh
0.1 milligram (1/10,000 of a gram), so after evaporation of
the water, we have left about 1 microgram (one-millionth
of a gram) of residue, made up of half salt and half
complex organic compounds such as amino acids, lipids,
vitamins, and perhaps additional body oils picked up on
the finger by touching oily or hairy parts of the body. This
doesn’t leave much for an investigator to work with!
Magnified finger ridges
Observing and Taking Fingerprints Laboratory

Activity 4.1
Although fingerprints can be left casually on anything you touch, there
are a number of steps involved in taking clear fingerprints that can be
The FBI rejects
classified and used for identification. about 2 percent of
submitted criminal
cards and about
Materials 10 percent of
inked civil cards
For each group: For each student: because of illegible
• stereomicroscopes • magnifying glass fingerprints, even
• fingerprint ink or ink pad though these cards
• 10-print cards are prepared by
professionals.
SAFETY ALERT! CHEMICALS USED
Always wear goggles and an apron when working in the labaratory
Procedure Notes
You’ll need a good magnifying
glass or stereomicroscope; a
1. Observation: Examine the surface of your fingers beyond the last knuckle special ink pad for fingerprinting
with a magnifying glass or a stereomicroscope. Describe what you see in or printer’s ink rolled onto a
your notebook. Make a sketch. glass or plastic plate (however,
a black ink office pad will do); a
Ridge patterns are not unique to fingers. Observe your palms, bare feet,
10-print card; soap; and towels.
and lips; they all have unique patterns. A good forensic fingerprint
2. Ink and transfer: The object is to obtain as wide and clear a print as pad, one sold specifically for
possible—not too light, not too dark. This takes practice. The idea is to roll fingerprinting, is best and will
the finger across the ink pad, then roll it across the paper from one edge cost about $20. A less expensive
method that works pretty well
of the fingernail to the other. Do this just once, not back and forth because is to rub a soft, black pencil
that will blur the print. Rolling the finger should make a large, square print point on paper, then rub and roll
showing lots of detail. Keep the finger and forearm parallel to the surface the finger through the graphite.
Have someone hold each end
of a piece of 2-inch-wide, clear
Fingerprints 77
kh00116_CH04.indd Page 78 7/26/08 11:45:44 AM elhi-8 /Volumes/110/KHUS021/indd%0/Ch 04
Procedure Notes, continued Laboratory Activity 4.1, continued

sticky tape while the finger is
rolled onto it. The tape can then
be stuck to the 10-print card (a of the table. Sometimes it helps if your other hand or a partner directs
10-print card can also be printed the roll by holding and pressing the finger. See the diagram in Figure 4.2,
on clear acetate and projected showing how this is done.
with an overhead for illustrative
purposes).
Students should be able to see
the pattern of ridges forming
beads of sweat at the pores if
the finger is close enough to the
microscope lamp. Encourage forearm parallel
them to look at other things to tabletop
under the scope, such as scars,
blisters, cuts, dirt under the
fingernails, and jewelry. tabletop
You can use the 10-print card
provided as Blackline Master 4.1,
found on the Teacher Resource Figure 4.2 Ink and roll
CD. Blackline Master 4.2, also
found on the Teacher Resource Practice on scrap paper. In a good print, you should be able to follow a ridge
CD, provides a grading chart that as it enters one side of the finger and exits. Then take the cleanest, most
can be used to assess proficiency legible print for each finger, cut it out, and paste it on the 10-print card dis-
in a number of the activities to
tributed by your teacher. Some states require that students have a parent’s
follow.
permission to take part in this activity. If required, your teacher will hand
Some states require parental
out a permission slip prior to the fingerprinting activities. All fingerprint
permission to fingerprint
students under the age of 18. impressions will be returned or destroyed.
A permission slip such as that
shown can be taken home a
few days prior to the lab. This
slip is provided as Blackline
Master 4.3 on the Teacher
Resource CD. Emphasize that all
fingerprints will be returned to
the students or destroyed at the
end of this exercise.
Well-rolled fingerprint (note Well-placed fingerprint Blurred fingerprint—rolled
writer’s bump, upper left) back and forth
3. Further observations: Examine your 10-print card using a magnifying

glass. Note basic similarities and differences in the patterns. What
are they? Note cracks, scars, and other unique features.
FBI 10-print card
78 Chapter 4
Rolling a print
Classification of Fingerprints
All fingerprints can be classified into three basic patterns: loops, whorls,
and arches.
The loop pattern has one or more ridges entering from one side, curving, then
going out from the same side it entered from. If even one ridge exits the same
side, it is a loop. There are two subgroups to the loop (see Figure 4.3). A radial
loop opens toward the thumb, that is, toward the radius,
the shorter of the two bones in the forearm; an ulnar loop: fingerprint pattern with one
loop opens toward the little finger, that is, toward the or more ridges entering from one
side, curving, then going out on the
ulna, the minor bone of the forearm. Without knowing
same side entered
which hand made the print, you cannot tell if the loop is
radial or ulnar (ulnar loops are more common, however). delta: triangular area found in
all loop and whorl patterns
All loop patterns show a delta, a triangular area usually
shaped like the silt formation near the mouth of a river flowing into the sea.
Figure 4.3 Loops
Fingerprints 79
WHORL CENTRAL POCKET DOUBLE ACCIDENTAL

LOOP LOOP
Figure 4.4 Whorls
Loops also have a core near the center of the pattern. The relative location
of core and delta must be known for complete individual classification and
identification. About 65 percent of all fingerprints have loops.
Whorl patterns can be subdivided into four groups,
core: area found near the center
of all loop and whorl patterns as shown in Figure 4.4. All whorls must have at least
two deltas and a core. Approximately 20 percent
whorl: fingerprint pattern with of fingerprints have plain whorls. Composites
at least two deltas and a core
(a mixture of two or more basic patterns) and
arch: least common and simplest accidentals (prints too irregular to fall into any other
fingerprint pattern. Arches have no group) make up about 10 percent of all fingerprints.
delta or core. All ridges enter one
side and exit the other. Arch patterns are the least common and the simplest
of fingerprint patterns but can be confused with
Suggested Assignment loops by inexperienced observers. The friction ridges enter from one side of
Have students go back and label the finger and exit the other while rising upward in the middle. Arches do
the prints on their 10-print cards not have a delta or core. They are divided into two groups, plain and tented
as loops, whorls, or arches. Ask arches (see Figure 4.5).
each student to have at least two
other students check to see if On your 10-print card, classify each of your fingerprint patterns according
they agree with the identification. to the eight basic types.
Henry Classification System

Edward Henry developed a method of classifying fingerprints, later modified by
the FBI, that allowed all sets of ten fingerprints in the world to be divided into
1,024 groups. Secondary and even more complex classifications were created
to allow for even more groups. This is done so that, when an unknown set of
Figure 4.5 Arches
80 Chapter 4
Figure 4.6 Primary classification scheme based on whorls
prints is submitted to the FBI for comparison,

most of the millions of sets of prints on file can be Loops, arches, and whorls
weeded out so that only a few dozen sets have to be The ridges all end in curls;
compared by hand. Now, computer matching of If I see any more
fingerprints is used to make that first big cut; but I’m out the door
after this, manual comparison may still be needed. To gather nuts with the squirrels.
The first step in classifying a set of fingerprints is to
identify the presence of any whorl patterns. These
patterns are given a number based on which finger
has the whorl, as shown in the chart in Figure 4.6. That number will be set up
Suggested Assignment
as a fraction. One is added to the numerator and denominator to avoid having
Have students classify family
zeros in the classification. members’ fingerprints, using just
So, for example, if there is a whorl on your left thumb and right middle a stamp pad, paper, and a hand
lens. In the absence of a stamp
finger, with the rest of the fingers having loops or arches, then pad, the student could rub a #1
or #2 pencil on paper, press the
004001 5 finger in the graphite dust, and
your primary classification
080001 9 either transfer the pattern to a
clean white paper
Calculate your primary Henry-FBI classification There are racial variations in or press the dusted
the distribution of the three finger against
number. clear sticky tape,
fundamental patterns. People
How many members of your class have the same of African ancestry have more mounting the tape
arches; people of European for examination.
classification number? How does the number of
background have many loops;
loops, whorls, and arches compare with the general and Asians have a higher
population? About 25 percent of people have loops and frequency of whorls. Also,
arches with no whorls, so a primary classification of certain patterns are more
1/1 is quite common. Be careful not to classify loops as likely to be found on particular
fingers; for example, forefingers
arches. You should have a general idea of the number of have most of the radial loops.
arches from the statistics shown in Table 4.2.
Table 4.2: Frequency of Fingerprint Patterns

Loops Whorls Arches
ulnar radial plain other plain tented
60% 5% 20% 10% 4% 1%
Fingerprints 81
kh00116_CH04.indd Page 82 8/9/08 2:08:07 AM user /Volumes/110/KHUS021/indd%0/Ch 04
Statistics
This is a good point to think about simpler statistics (see Chapter 2). For
example, what is the probability of one person having two arches? Let’s
start with something simple.
A tossed penny will land “heads up” or “tails up.”
The probability that it will land heads up is one out
of two possibilities, or 1/2. Probability is merely the
likelihood that a specific event will occur and can be
defined numerically. So the odds that a penny will
land heads up, no matter how often it is tossed or
how often heads actually comes up, are 1 to 1.
Probability (p)
n number of one kind of possible outcomes (heads)

N total number of all possible outcomes (heads and tails)
Odds n to (N n)
What are the odds that heads will come up twice in two tosses of the coin?
n 1 heads-heads
N 4 the possible outcomes being heads-heads,
heads-tails, tails-heads, and tails-tails
so
1 1 1 1
p 2
2 2 2 (2)
The odds are
n 1
Nn 41
which means 1 to 3 in favor, or 3 to 1 against, getting two heads in two tosses.
In three tosses,
1 1
p 3
(2) 8
The odds are therefore 7 to 1 against getting three heads in three tosses.
Note that we are determining the probability of a particular sequence of
events, that is, the chances that heads is going to come up every time. In
100 tosses, the chances that heads will come up 50 times are 1 to 1 because
we aren’t being specific about what the sequence has to be.
Mathematical probability as shown above works only if the outcomes do
not affect one another, that is, if they are independent.
82 Chapter 4
Forensic science often uses probability when judging the probative value
of evidence. For example, what are the odds that a portion of a fingerprint
came from a particular suspect, or that a piece of automobile paint came
from a particular car? Unfortunately, it is very rare that you can assign a
sure number to the odds, except for blood typing and DNA typing where
population statistics are well known.
Now let’s get back to comparing the primary patterns of the 300 or so
fingerprints from your class to those of the general population as given
in Table 4.2. The probability, in a large population, of having an arch is
5 percent, which means that, on average, 5 out of 100 fingers would have
an arch; that is, there are 5 arches per 10 people, or, on the average, every
other person has an arch. However, in a limited population, arches are
not necessarily evenly distributed, so it’s more likely that some students
may have two fingers with arches. This is described in the Rule of Large
Numbers, which states that the larger the population, the greater the
likelihood that the actual numbers will approach those of the computed
probability, P:
If a given outcome or event is repeated N times, then

as N , then Pactual P
What is the probability of one person having two arches? For each finger
examined, the probability of an arch is 1/20, even if five arches have been
identified. However, the chances of someone having so many arches is low,
and can be approximated in a large population the same way we did with
the coin toss.
1 arch 1 1 1
P1 20 fingers P2 20 20 400
So, in a large population, the probability of one person having two arches is
40 to 1. Yet, in a group of 1,000 people, one would expect to find 500 arches,
but not necessarily 500 people with one arch each.
What are the odds of one person having three arches?
Ridge Classification (Individualization)

You have now classified fingerprints according to general patterns or
groups, but to individualize them you must use the fine structure of
ridge characteristics, or minutiae. Some common
minutiae are shown in Figure 4.7 on the next page. minutiae: in descriptions of
fingerprints, ridge characteristics
Figure 4.8 shows some ridge characteristics in an
inked print.
Fingerprints 83
Ridge ending Bifurcation or fork
Island or short ridge Dot
Bridge Spur
Eye or enclosure Double bifurcation
Delta Trifurcation
Figure 4.7 Individual ridge characteristics
Figure 4.8 Ridge characteristics in an inked print
Presenting Fingerprints as Evidence

FADED There are no legal requirements in the United
TS
FINGERPRIN States regarding the number of points (minutiae
R
COST FORME and their relative location) that must match
B
WELDER A JO before deciding that a fingerprint belongs
to a certain individual. Criminal courts will
s turned down for
One job applicant wa generally accept 8 to 12 points of similarity as
power station
a position at a nuclear sufficient proof. Considering there are 150 to
ts did not pass
because his fingerprin 200 minutiae in a properly rolled fingerprint,
guidelines. Most
Homeland Security’s
80 identification the problem is getting a good, readable print to
adults have more than
rint, but years of
marks on each fingerp work with.
ridges on this welder’s
welding had eroded
out 30 remained.
fingers so that only ab
84 Chapter 4
Two items taken from

the Web.
Is this a scam or is it possib
le?
THIS PRODUCT
WILL TOTALLY
CHANGE YOUR
FINGERPRINTS
FOR 48+ HOURS
That new job asking for fing

erprints?
Scared what they might find
out?
With TOTALLY NEW SKIN you
don’t
have to worry; it will come
up “no
history,” and you can go on
with your
life and your new high-payi
ng job.
Scarred fingerprint
It’s possible to change you
r
Fingerprints cannot lie, but the analysis and identification fingerprints!
are subject to error. See, for example, the case study “Madrid HOW TO
Bombings” on page 97. CHANGE YOUR
Identify the 15 points in Figure 4.9 on the handout from your FINGERPRINTS
teacher. What type of print is this?
Okay, you’re probably thinking,
“But it’s
impossible to change your fing
erprints!”
Everyone knows that! Most blin
dly
1 believe that, but it just isn’t
true.
15 So shake that particular bit of
2 societal
programming out of your hea
d and be
ready for a new life.
14
3
13
4
Suggested Assignment
12 5
Ask students to use the minutiae
6 in Figure 4.7 to identify the
15 points on Figure 4.9. Ask what
7 type of print this is. This print can
11 be found on the TRCD, BLM 4.4,
as well as on the one with the
answers, BLM 4.5.
Have students label 12 ridge
characteristics on two of their
best prints. If they do not have
10 two that are good enough to ID
8
9 12 points, have them make new
Figure 4.9 Fingerprint minutiae inked prints.
Fingerprints 85
Figure 4.10 Dillinger’s altered fingerprints
How would scars affect identification?

Missing fingers?
DOCTOR IS
FINGERED IN Working in certain professions can affect
VAL
PRINT REMO a person’s fingerprint. For example, the
ridges of concrete workers and plasterers
aight from a
It could be a scene str can become rather indistinct over time
e drug dealer is
Hollywood movie. Th because the alkalinity of cement and
rde r with mysterious
picked up at the bo gypsum can dissolve proteins. Sherlock
s. His Mexican
bandages on his hand
er arrested and Holmes would note this.
plastic surgeon is lat
rm ing a surgery to
charged with perfo John Dillinger, public enemy number one
ts and replace
remove his fingerprin
them with skin fro m in the early 1930s, paid a doctor $5,000,
his feet.
plus $25 per day for room and board, to
wspaper,
— from a Mexican ne
June 2007 “dissolve” his fingerprints with acid and
perform some minor surgery on his face.
The operation created lots of scar tissue
that obscured the ridges in the center of his fingers, but there were still
plenty of minutiae for identification. Also, if he had been identified with his
“new” prints, the scars would have provided a unique characterization (see
Figure 4.10).
Types of Prints
plastic print: three- A plastic print (or indented or molded print)
dimensional print made as is made by pressing a finger against a plasticlike
indentations in soft material such material to form a negative impression of a
as fresh paint, putty, or wax; also fingerprint. Such material could include fresh paint,
called an indented or molded print putty (as in our crime scene), soap, candle wax,
86 Chapter 4
kh00116_CH04.indd Page 87 8/29/08 11:15:46 AM newuser /Volumes/110/KHUS021/indd%0/Ch 04
gum on envelopes or stamps, or a candy bar that has visible print: fingerprint left
softened in the hand. by a finger that has touched blood,
paint, ink, or the like
A visible print is left by a finger that has touched
colored material such as blood, paint, ink, grease, latent print: fingerprint made
chalk, mud, or sometimes even dust. by the deposit of perspiration or
body oils; invisible to the naked eye
A latent print is essentially invisible and must be until developed
developed by chemical or physical means. These
prints result from deposits of perspiration and body oils.
Classroom Activity
Here it may be helpful for the
students to draw a floor plan of
Back to the Crime Scene pertinent sections of the house,
Think back to the crime scene described at the beginning of this chapter. then take on the role of the
Where would you find the burglar’s fingerprints? What types of prints are burglar as he tries to enter the
house, recreating his path and
most likely to be found?
noting what he
Make a list of the people whose fingerprints has touched. The
Reminder
first item would be
you might expect to find in the house. Suppose probative value: the ability of evidence the latch on the
fingerprints that do not belong to anyone living to prove something that is material to a window, where a
in the house are found where the burglar went. crime. Fingerprints are said to have high latent print would
probative value because they can be possibly be left.
Which ones have probative value or evidentiary individualized to one person. Next, the soft
value? Why?
putty might yield
a plastic print. Prints may have
been left on door and drawer
Visualizing Latent Prints knobs and the jewelry cases
upstairs; however, these areas
One of the most common methods of visualizing (developing, or making
may have many of the occupants’
visible) a latent print is by carefully dusting it with a fine powder. This prints. On his way out, the
method is most effective on hard, nonabsorbent surfaces. The color of burglar took a bite of cheese,
the powder is chosen to stand out possibly leaving a plastic print
on what was left. If he was as
against the surface being examined.
careless as described, perhaps
So, for example, a white or gray powder he even left an oily latent print
NO NEED T
would be used on dark surfaces, a black O of cheese on the pad of paper,
powder on light ones. The developed D U S T F O R the pen, or the back doorknob
PRINTS; C OPS and latch.
print can then be “lifted” by means
HAVE THIE The fingerprints in the putty are
of clear sticky tape and collected F’S
FINGERTIP outside; they could belong to
for analysis. S the glazier. Even if matched to
There are various chemical methods A bandit sliced of a suspect, they only put him at
f two fingertips in the scene, at some time, outside
for developing latent prints. They his haste to cut th
e wires from an the house. However, a suspect’s
antiquated hard dr
are generally more effective for ive during a break- prints inside the house place
at a state weighin in
g station.
soft, porous surfaces such as paper, him or her at the crime scene,
—abstracted from although not necessarily at the
Styrofoam cups, and leather. Iodine Lansing State
Journal, 1997 time of the crime. If a suspect
(I2) reacts with the fatty oils from the had never been inside the house
finger to form a visible but short- before the crime . . . bingo!
lasting print. Iodine works best for
Fingerprints 87
prints on porous paper. Ninhydrin is

also most commonly used with paper
FINGERING and porous surfaces. It reacts with the
EEK
ANCIENT GR amino acids left by the finger to make
POTTERS an orange to purple image. Silver nitrate
ked experts to help (AgNO3) reacts with salt (NaCl) left from
Archeologists have as
tters by examining perspiration in a dried print to form silver
identify individual po
2,400 years ago
fingerprints left some chloride (AgCl), which is then converted to
ous black and
on fragments of the fam dark silver oxide (Ag2O). This is the same
uthern Italy.
red vases found in so process used in developing photographs.
ience, 1997
—abstracted from Sc
An interesting method of chemically
developing fingerprints was discovered
quite by accident in Japan in the late
Classroom Activity 1970s. This method is now widely used for developing latent prints on
You may now wish to set up a nonporous surfaces such as metals, glass, adhesive tapes, and plastic
mock B & E in the classroom articles. It involves evaporating superglue in an enclosed container.
and ask the students to sketch The glue, a cyanoacrylate ester, reacts with print residues to make a
the “crime scene,”
and locate white, permanent impression that can then be
where to look for ninhydrin : a biochemical treated with powders or fluorescent dyes to create a
fingerprints, and reagent used to detect free amino sharper contrast and allow for easier photography
identify the best and carboxyl groups in proteins
or lifting.
methods to use. and peptides; the resulting color
If you use the is called Ruhemann’s purple Often, as with many analytical procedures, the order
fingerprint lab of the steps in developing prints is important. When
early in the school you have just one piece of evidence, first use tests
year, you might have the students
make a latent print in some out-
that won’t harm that evidence. You want to get as much information as
of-the-way place so that, at the possible, so you may have to perform several tests. For example, to get
end of the year, they can see if the best image of latent fingerprints, you might first use iodine fuming;
it still can be visualized. This will then you might try ninhydrin. You would save the silver nitrate method
test the longevity of undisturbed
fingerprints.
until last because this procedure will wash away traces of fatty oils and
proteins.
Laboratory Developing Latent Fingerprints

Activity 4.2
One job of the crime scene investigator is to find latent fingerprints—
those that are left by perspiration or grease and are not immediately
visible to the naked eye—and develop them, that is, treat them so they
can be seen and inspected. There are several physical and chemical
methods of visualizing latent fingerprints.
88 Chapter 4
Laboratory Activity 4.2, continued Procedure Notes

A good start on this first part of
the lab is to use a chalkboard
and have the students press
their fingers into chalk dust, then
Materials press them against the board.
• ceramic tiles • gloves The prints can also be lifted
• white powder • heat gun easily off the board.
• fingerprint brushes • UV lamp The dusting activity is a messy
• 2-inch cellophane tape • silver nitrate solution one to clean up. You will find
• black or gray fingerprint powder • “fixer” black powder everywhere.
• white paper • paper towels Fired, glossy kitchen/bathroom
• smooth black paper • microscope slides tiles (or pieces) make excellent
• beaker and cover • plastic bags substrates for practicing lifting,
• glossy white or photo paper • Styrofoam cups and your lab benches won’t get
• iodine crystals • fuming chamber and cover as messy. They come in a variety
• forceps • superglue of colors.
• starch solution • copying machine Black dusting powder can be
• ninhydrin solution in atomizer • clear acetate sheets purchased from companies
• zinc chloride solution • red markers that supply forensic science
materials, such as Lightning
SAFETY ALERT! CHEMICALS USED Powder Company, Inc. (www.
Always wear goggles and an apron when working in the labaratory redwop.com). Black fingerprint
powder costs about $6 for 2 oz,
SAFETY NOTE Also wear goggles when using the zinc chloride solution.
$18 for 8 oz. A good substitute is
! Recommend wearing gloves and apron. Do not ingest or inhale. Iodine is toxic
by inhalation and ingestion.
toner from your copier. Be aware
that some people are allergic
to either or both powders. Fine
charcoal can be used, as can
soot, but these are messy to
Physical Methods collect.
Magnetic and fluorescent
Dusting and Lifting Latent Fingerprints powders are also available. The
former is not as messy, but is
1. Clean an area on a black tile.
more expensive.
2. Gently press your thumbprint on the edge. For white dusting powder, talcum
3. Select a contrasting powder (white) and its brush. Make sure you do not mix powder or chalk dust works
brushes. When using the brush to apply powder, first fluff it up by rolling the well; gray powder can be made
handle rapidly between your fingers or palms. by mixing the black and white
powders. About 1 percent of fine
4. Lightly touch the brush to the powder. Tap off any excess in a petri dish or aluminum powder added to the
on a newspaper. mix increases adhesion.
5. Move the brush gently back and forth over the print surface. If a print begins There are brushes made
to appear, continue brushing in the direction of the ridges. If you brush too specifically for fingerprint work.
hard, the print will be wiped away or smeared and become useless. Good all-purpose brushes
are about $4 each. Soft paint
6. Gently blow off the excess powder from the print. brushes or cosmetic brushes may
7. This takes practice; you may need to repeat several times before you get work, but developing is difficult
a good visible print. Hint: If you are having difficulty getting enough oil enough even with the right brush.
on your fingers to make a latent print, run your fingers through your
hair several times. Once your print looks clear, move on to step 8.
8. Cut 3 inches of lifting tape.
Fingerprints 89
Procedure Notes, continued Laboratory Activity 4.2, continued

Lifting tape can be a clear
Scotch brand or similar tape; a
2-inch width works best. You will
need white paper or card stock
and black smooth paper (copier
cartridges are wrapped in such
paper). Local printers usually
carry a black glossy paper. For
skin, use glossy photo paper or a
similar white, very glossy paper.
See your local print shop.
Procedure Notes Dusting technique Dusting for fingerprints

All the chemicals listed here are
pretty standard; your chemistry 9. Attach the tape to the base of the print. Holding the tape taut and beginning
department should have iodine
at the base of the print, gently begin pressing the tape down as you move
crystals (I2). If not, they are
available from standard chemical upward and beyond the print. This should eliminate air bubbles and smearing.
suppliers such as Flinn Scientific, 10. Gently pull back the tape, lift the print, and place it on a 2-inch square of
P.O. Box 219, Batavia, IL 60510; contrasting (black) paper. Place the square with the print in your notebook
(800) 452-1261; www.flinnsci. and label which finger it came from and how you developed it. Your teacher
com. Note that iodine is toxic by
inhalation and ingestion.
may ask you to identify ridge characteristics.
For cornstarch or any starch 11. Follow the same procedure using the following: white tile with black
product, make up a 2 percent powder; glass and metal with gray, white, or black powder.
solution by adding 2 g of starch 12. Lift and tape the prints and place them in your notebook. Keep in mind
to about 100 ml cold water and that you may have to develop and lift several prints to get one that is clear
bringing to a boil while stirring. Cool.
enough to identify characteristics.
Ninhydrin is available from most
scientific supply houses, such 13. Use porous surfaces such as white paper or an index card and repeat
as Carolina Biological Supply the above procedure. Place the tape on the dusted print to protect it and
Company (www.carolina.com), as place it in your notebook. Label your print.
a biological reagent; the cost is 14. A latent fingerprint on the surface of human skin can sometimes be lifted
about $9 for 5 grams. Make up
a 5 percent solution in acetone
and developed. Try pressing several fingers on your wrist.
or alcohol (stir 5 g into 95 ml 15. Press a 1-inch square of glossy photographic paper against the prints on
acetone or alcohol). Caution: your skin for 2 to 3 seconds. Try a clean microscope slide.
Ninhydrin is a body tissue irritant.
16. Develop with an appropriate powder. Protect it with tape. Most people find
For zinc chloride solution, add it very difficult to lift prints from skin; you may not be able to find very
3 g zinc chloride (ZnCl2), 25 ml
ethyl alcohol, and 5 ml acetic
many ridge characteristics. Save one or more latents from your skin for
acid to 70 ml of water. Caution: subsequent chemical developing (below).
Zinc chloride is a severe skin
irritant; work with gloves in the
preparation. Chemical Methods
A black light (ultraviolet
lamp) positioned over a dark Iodine Fuming
box eliminates the need for
darkening the room and makes Caution: Iodine is toxic by ingestion or inhalation. This procedure is best
the procedure a lot safer. performed under a hood.
Carolina Biological Supply sells
1. Place a fingerprint on two pieces of paper or index card.
90 Chapter 4
Laboratory Activity 4.2, continued Procedure Notes, continued

a portable long- and short-
wave lamp for about $100.
2. Put each print in a beaker containing several Fisher Science Education
crystals of iodine and cover the beaker. Solid (www.fisheredu.com) has a line
iodine sublimes; that is, it passes directly of good UV lamps also. Lightning
from the solid phase to the vapor phase Powder sells a battery-operated
without going through the liquid phase. (AA) long-wavelength UV light
for about $30, but visualization
Both mothballs and dry ice also do this.
is severely limited in many
3. When the prints become visible, remove applications of chromatography.
them with forceps or tweezers. Watch care- Caution: Do not look directly into
fully as your prints develop. Leaving them in a black light; the UV radiation
for too little time will not give enough detail; can harm your eyes.
leaving them in for too much time will give
Iodine fuming
you a big brown blotch.
4. Dip one of the prints in a starch solution. What happens? Why? GO TO www.scilinks.org
Allow to air dry.
TOPIC ultraviolet light
5. Cover both prints with clear tape to preserve them.
CODE forensics2E91
6. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
7. Identify five ridge characteristics on each print. Place the prints in your
notebook. Label. Check them in a day or two and note any changes. Explain.
Ninhydrin
Caution: Ninhydrin will stain skin and clothing.
Wear gloves if possible.
1. Place several fingerprints on a piece of paper.
2. Hang the paper in a hood or well-ventilated
place and spray it with the ninhydrin solution.
3. Wait 24 hours for the print to develop, or
warm gently with a heat gun.
4. Identify five ridge characteristics. Place the
print in your notebook. Label. Ninhydrin print
Further Development with the Ninhydrin Print (optional)

5. Dip your ninhydrin prints in a zinc chloride solution. This should turn the
print orange, making it easier to visualize. Caution: Zinc chloride solution is Fluorescent print
a skin irritant; you may wish to wear gloves.
6. Place the print under a black light (ultraviolet [UV] lamp). fluorescence: the
7. Allow the print to dry and place it in your notebook. Label the print and absorption of light at
describe what you saw under the black light. The zinc chloride treatment one wavelength (often
causes the prints to fluoresce. Basically, fluorescence occurs when a in the ultraviolet range)
material absorbs light and reemits it at wavelengths longer than those of the and its reemission at a
light source. Substances are added to textiles and papers to cause them to longer wavelength (often
fluoresce white (optical brighteners). Many fingerprint powders now contain in the visible part of the
fluorescent agents. spectrum)
Fingerprints 91
Laboratory Activity 4.2, continued
Superglue (Cyanoacrylate) Fuming

Caution: Do not get superglue on your skin and do not breathe the fumes,
because they irritate the mucous membranes. Keep your face away from
Procedure Notes the top of the developing chamber when you slowly remove the lid.
A superglue developing tank
can be made from an aquarium,
even one with cracked sides
(tape them with duct tape). Line
three sides with aluminum foil
to prevent eventual clouding
by cyanoacrylate polymer
(superglue) and insert a 40-watt
lightbulb and socket, covered
by a tin can with a few holes
punched in it. Place aluminum
foil or a bottle cap on top of the
can. Insert a small container of
water in the tank (this catalyzes
faster development of prints)
and a rack to hold objects to
be fumed. Use a cover for the
aquarium (a piece of cardboard Figure 4.11 Superglue developing tank
will do) because the fumes
are quite irritating to the eyes
and throat. It is recommended 1. Wipe clean a microscope slide, a portion of a plastic bag, or a piece of
that you place the chamber in Styrofoam cup. Write your initials on the sample.
a hood or where there is good
ventilation.
2. Add fingerprints.
3. Place in the developing chamber.
4. Squeeze three or four drops of superglue on the aluminum foil or tin can that
rests upon the heater (a lightbulb with a can over it).
Lifting prints from can
Prints developed by fuming
92 Chapter 4
Laboratory Activity 4.2, continued
5. Replace the lid on the chamber and turn on the light.

6. Prints should be visible after five to ten minutes. Carefully remove the item
from the chamber. Be sure you do not breathe the fumes or allow them to get
in your eyes as you lift up the lid.
7. Using a magnifying glass, identify ridge characteristics. A cyanoacrylate polymer
8. You can enhance the prints even more with powder. has a structure such
as this, with R = a
9. Place the prints in your notebook. Label them, describe your procedure, methyl, ethyl, or butyl
and identify at least five ridge characteristics. group. Polymerization
is catalyzed by a base,
Silver Nitrate (optional) even water.
1. Place a fingerprint on a piece of paper.
2. Using forceps, immerse it in the silver nitrate solution for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Remove the paper with forceps and drain the excess liquid. Procedure Notes
You may want to wear gloves for this one because silver nitrate will darken Make up a 1 percent solution
of silver nitrate, 1 g AgNO3 in
your skin when it is exposed to sunlight.
100 ml H2O, and store it in the
4. Sandwich the fingerprint paper between paper towels and dry it. Then expose dark. Caution: Silver nitrate is
the print to bright sunlight or long-wave UV light. Caution: Do not look directly a corrosive solid, quite toxic by
at the UV light. UV radiation can harm your eyes. Wear UV goggles, if available. ingestion. For a fixer, use 20 g
of sodium thiosulfate (“hypo”)
5. Watch the development carefully so that it does not become overexposed. plus 14 g of sodium bisulfite
6. To develop or “fix” the print, immerse it in the fixer solution for 15 to 20 minutes. per 100 g of water. Sodium
bisulfate is a corrosive solid.
7. Remove and blot dry with paper towels.
Avoid skin contact, inhalation,
8. Place in your notebook, label, and identify five ridge characteristics. and ingestion.
This is a good method to use on older fingerprints. The silver nitrate reacts
with the sodium chloride that is left after other materials from the print have
evaporated or deteriorated. It also works well with fingerprint impressions on
wood. Try it on a Popsicle stick, wood splint, or some other small piece of wood.
A method that can be used to compare a latent print to an inked one is to

use a photocopier to uniformly enlarge the prints. Overlay a clear acetate
sheet on the inked print and delineate points of reference, such as the core,
delta(s), and arch top, with a red marker. Now use the marker to outline
particular minutiae—bifurcations are good
ones to use because they are easy to see and bifurcations: common
there are many of them—working out from minutiae, shaped like a two-
each reference point. This “known” print can pronged fork
then be overlaid on other latent prints for
comparison.
Figure 4.12 on the next page shows an example of two fingerprints for
comparison. The one on the left is the same as the one in Figure 4.8 on page 84;
Fingerprints 93
Teacher Note
This sort of algorithm is the
basis of the FBI’s Automated
Fingerprint Identification
System (AFIS). For your
convenience, Figure 4.12 can be
found on the TRCD as Blackline
Master 4.6 and the answers as
Blackline Master 4.7.
Figure 4.12 Identification algorithm
note the red highlighted ridge characteristics. Do they match the digitized
image on the right? Is the latent print on the right from the same finger?
Other Methods
Police investigators routinely photograph fingerprint images to preserve
them for further examination. Try photographing prints with a digital
camera and enhance the image by computer. The latest innovation in
fingerprinting is all digital—no more ink! The fingers are pressed against
a glass platen and scanned to a
screen, where they can be enhanced,
P L E A D S
MAN compared, and sent to an Automated
GU ILT Y T O Fingerprint Identification System
M U R D E R
1979 (AFIS), all in a matter of a few minutes.
Burton will serve More sophisticated chemical methods

Ronnie Lee Bullock of
in prison for the of visualizing fingerprints use
at least 20 to 30 years
er. Warner’s body fluorescent dyes and special lighting
death of Vadah Warn
home on February
was found in her Flint or lasers to make the prints easier to
nce discovered at
3, 1979. The only evide see. Magnetic developing powder is
gerprints.
the scene was two fin
at the time, was also used in certain circumstances.
Bullock, who was 19
police after the Digital imaging can capture the
interviewed twice by
ged knowing Warner
killing. He acknowled print no matter how it has been
been in her house.
but said he had never developed. An impression is converted
me in 2003, when
A break in the case ca into a digital fi le that can then be
crime scene were
fingerprints from the
ated Fingerprint manipulated to make the print easier
entered into the Autom
and a match with to see. Work is being done to improve
Identification System
e system did not
Bullock was found. Th the resolution of these “e-prints.”
exist in 1979.
nsing State A digital print’s ridge characteristics
—condensed from La
Journal, 2005 can be recorded in geometric
patterns relative to a fixed point.
94 Chapter 4
Taking a digital fingerprint
The resulting array may look like a drunken spider’s web,

On December 17, 2002, a man was arrested
yet a computer search algorithm can compare hundreds
for resisting arrest and obstructing an
of thousands of these webs in less than a second. officer. As part of the booking process, his
Automated systems such as this one still require manual fingerprints were submitted electronically
intervention of incoming data to complete a fingerprint to the FBI for processing in IAFIS. Within
20 minutes, the FBI learned that the
search and identification against existing digital files.
offender had used a false name at the time
The FBI phased in a system known as the Integrated of arrest, had a criminal history in four
Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) in states, was on parole, and had been wanted
1999 that completely replaces the traditional fingerprint since July of 2002 for a parole violation.
card and operator intervention. By 2007 IAFIS had
more than 55 million computerized fingerprint records
for known criminals. Now, so-called Live Scan electronic fingerprint
scanning devices can transmit prints at the time of arrest or booking to
a central IAFIS database to provide immediate positive identification,
check for a match with any suspect latent fingerprints on file, and
Computer image of digitized prints
Fingerprints 95
China’s Xinhua news agency

reports that the police
department in Nanjing has gone
beyond fingerprints and now has
a data bank of smells taken from
criminals and crime scenes to
aid police dogs in investigations.
Officials say that storing the
scents at minus 18 degrees
Celsius retards degradation for
at least three years, and they
say the bank of 500 odors has
already led to the identification
of 23 suspects.
Method of FBI fingerprint analysis

Brian Jeffries was arrested and
charged with robbery. While in custody, provide a criminal history. IAFIS can also include criminal
officers noticed the suspect biting his
fingernails—or at least that’s what they
history, mug shots, photos of scars or tattoos, height, weight,
thought at first. Upon closer inspection, hair and eye color, and aliases. With automatic scanners, inked
they discovered it was not his fingernails impressions may eventually become obsolete.
he was biting: It was his fingertips.
He was trying to chew off his own Many companies now sell IAFIS-type systems for employee
fingerprints to avoid being identified. identification and industrial security. Search the Web to see what
He was restrained before he was able to is available, costs, where such systems are or could be used, and
complete the job.
how they can affect personal rights to privacy.
4.1: The 1933 Hamm

Kidnapping
The story begins like an old gangster flick: a gang of criminals

and an unexpected kidnapping.
On a warm summer evening in 1933, William A. Hamm, Jr.,
president of the Theodore Hamm Brewing Company, was working
at his office in St. Paul, Minnesota. He had just left the building
when he was grabbed by four shadowy figures and pushed into the
back of a car. He had been kidnapped by members of the Barker/
Karpis gang, who demanded a ransom of more than $100,000.
Hamm was taken to Wisconsin, where he was forced to sign four
ransom notes. Then he was moved to a hideout in Bensenville,
Illinois, were he was held prisoner until the kidnappers had been
paid. Once the money was handed over, Hamm was released near
Wyoming, Minnesota. The plan was perfect and went off without
Alvin “Creepy” Karpis
a hitch . . . almost.
96 Chapter 4
At this point, the FBI Crime Lab got involved. On September 6, 1933, using
what was then state-of-the-art technology, now called “latent fingerprint
identification,” investigators from the lab raised incriminating fingerprints
from surfaces that could not be dusted for prints. Alvin Karpis, “Doc”
Barker, Charles Fitzgerald, and the other members of the gang had gotten
away, but they had left their fingerprints behind—all over the ransom notes.
The investigation of the Hamm kidnapping was the first time the silver
nitrate method was used successfully to visualize latent prints from forensic
evidence. Scientists had the idea of taking advantage of the perspiration in
unseen fingerprints. Perspiration is chock full of sodium chloride (common
table salt). By painting the evidence, in this case the ransom notes, with a
silver nitrate solution, the salty perspiration reacted chemically to form silver
chloride, which is white and visible to the naked eye. There it was: hard
evidence that the Karpis gang was behind the kidnapping. Case closed.
—from www.fbi.gov/page2/sept03/kid090803.htm
4.2: Madrid Bombings
Is fingerprint identification infallible, or do political pressures cause

“mistakes”? On March 11, 2004 (911 days after 9/11), coordinated
train bombings in Madrid, Spain, killed 191 people and wounded
2,050. After extensive and intrusive investigation, on May 6, 2004,
the FBI arrested Brandon Mayfield, an Oregon lawyer. A bag found by
Spanish police containing detonating devices had fingerprints that were
identified by the FBI as belonging to Mayfield. It turned out that Mayfield’s
prints were not an exact match to the ones on the bag. Two weeks later,
Mayfield was released. The FBI acknowledged “serious errors” in the
identification and apologized. This was not enough: Mayfield sued the U.S.
government and settled for a reported 2 million dollars.
Latent print from the crime scene (left); known print from Mayfield (middle); known print from prime suspect (right)
Fingerprints 97
kh00116_CH04.indd Page 98 8/27/08 8:39:11 AM newuser /Volumes/110/KHUS021/indd%0/Ch 04
Checkpoint Questions
Answers
1. A copy of Figure 4.13 is provided on the Teacher Answer the following questions. Keep the answers in your
Resource CD as Blackline Master 4.8. Answers notebook, to be turned in to your teacher at the end of the unit.
(below) are on Blackline Master 4.9.
A = G = S This one is interesting; there are three
1. From the 20 impressions in Figure 4.13 (page 99),
separate impressions of the same finger with
some very unique features. match the ones that are made by the same finger.
B = no match In some cases, one print may appear two or three
C = no match times. Some will not match. Example: E and T match.
D = no match B does not have a match. Write your answers in
E=T your notebook as shown below.
F=J
H=R
I = no match A K
K=O
L = no match
M=P B L
N=Q
Note: Matching can be facilitated by digitally
enlarging and comparing cropped areas, or by C M
enlarging the image with a copier and using a
transparency overlay.
D N
E O
F P
G Q
H R
I S
J T
98 Chapter 4
Figure 4.13 Match fingerprints
Fingerprints 99
Answers, continued
2. Prepare two 10-print cards, one for the victim, the 2. Develop and lift any prints found on the objects
other for the suspect. Place one clear fingerprint submitted by your teacher. Look for a match, listing
of the suspect and/or victim on several different as many minutiae as possible. Evaluate your work
types of objects, such as a plastic bag, a glass, and provide an opinion as to whose prints they are.
a soda can, and a piece of paper. (Be sure to
wipe the objects well before depositing the
prints). Have each student group develop and
lift the prints. Have them characterize as many 3. All fingerprints have class characteristics such as
minutiae as possible and look for a match on the loops, whorls, arches, cores, deltas, bifurcations,
10-print cards. You could work up a crime to fit ridges, spurs, and the like. Why, then, are fingerprints
the assessment or just put your students in the
considered individual rather than class evidence?
position of forensic scientists working in the lab.
3. The relative locations of the class characteristics
make the pattern unique.
4. water, salts, organic compounds; deposited by 4. What are fingerprints composed of, and how are they
touching or handling an object deposited?
5. Loops, whorls, and arches are patterns; the
minutiae are the ridge characteristics.
6. Patterns cannot be changed. 5. What is the difference between a fingerprint pattern
7. loop and a ridge characteristic?
8. arch
9. radial loop
10. at least two
6. How can fingerprint patterns be changed?
11. A latent print is invisible; it can be developed by
various physical and chemical means.
12. the Integrated Automated Fingerprint
Identification System (see page 95) 7. The most common type of fingerprint pattern is
.
8. The least common type of fingerprint pattern is

.
9. A loop pattern that opens toward the thumb is known

as a .
10. All whorl patterns have deltas.
11. What is meant by a latent print, and how can one

be developed?
12. Explain what IAFIS is and how it is used.
100 Chapter 4
Answers, continued
13. How is the “final verification” made using the AFIS 13. through examination by an expert
system? 14. a. visible; b. plastic; c. latent; d. latent;
e. possibly plastic, but Romano cheese is very hard,
so maybe latent; f. visible; g. latent; h. latent;
i. plastic; j. visible; k. latent; l. latent; m. latent;
14. What type of fingerprint (plastic, visible, latent)
n. plastic
would be likely to be found in, on, or by means
15. latch, windowsill—dusting; putty—photograph;
of the following materials? bedroom—dusting and perhaps fuming particular
a. blood h. polyethylene bag small, portable objects that may have been picked
up and examined; cheese—dusting, photography;
b. mud i. fudge the note—iodine and/or ninhydrin fuming; back
c. wood tabletop j. dust door—dusting.
16. a. ninhydrin or iodine; b. silver chloride;
d. windowpane k. newspaper
c. superglue and/or dusting; d. ninhydrin;
e. Romano cheese l. leather jacket e. superglue fuming; f. very difficult to visualize
prints from textiles, possibly iodine; g. dusting;
f. chalk m. gun barrel
h. superglue fuming and/or dusting
g. skin n. snow 17. with AgNO3; AgNO3 ⫹ NaCl
AgCl ⫹ NaNO3 or
Ag⫹ ⫹ Cl⫺ AgCl(s) ; other methods good for
paper like ninhydrin, iodine.
15. In the crime scene presented at the beginning of the
18. They are both loops (relatively rare). The best way
chapter, what would be the best way to develop the
to compare the two prints would be to hand out
latent prints at each area? How would you preserve enlarged copies found on the TRCD as BLM 4.10.
them? How would you preserve those in the putty? The students can then use the technique of
designating minutiae as well as mapping
bifurcations.
16. What would be the best way to visualize latent
fingerprints on the following materials?
a. matchbook cover e. broken bottle
b. Popsicle stick f. handkerchief
c. vinyl upholstery g. toilet seat
d. cigarette butt h. lightbulb
17. In Case Study 4.1, regarding the Hamm kidnapping,

how were the fingerprints on the ransom note
developed? Write the chemical equation. What other
methods presently in use might have worked?
18. From the Madrid Bombings, Case Study 4.2, what

is the pattern of Mayfield’s print and that of the
prime suspect? How are they similar? How are they
different?
Fingerprints 101
Answers Additional Projects

2. See, for example, Kurland, Chapter 6. Also check
out, for example, http://www.crimeandclues.com/
earprint.htm and http://technology.newscientist.
1. Investigate the use of
com/article/dn7672.html.
“eyeprints” (retinal or
iris scans) as a means of
EARPRINT
identification. Is this a valid CATCHES
method of identification? MURDERE
What are the advantages and R
disadvantages as compared A man has been co
to the use of fingerprints? nvicted of suffoca
an elderly woman ting
on the basis of ea
print evidence. Th r
2. Are ears different enough e assailant was ca
after police match ught
to be a useful class of ed him to the impr
of his ear on the vi int
identification? How could a ctim’s window. Po
believe that the th lice
person devise a method of ief put his ear to th
window to listen e
recording and classifying for signs of anyone
an individual’s ear? at home.
—abstracted from
3. Although not often used, lip BBC News,
prints can provide a means December 15, 1998
of identification because,
3. The boys in your class will love this one! See like fingerprints, they are
Chapter 9, “Trace Evidence,” for activities. unique and do not change
Students could even write a short mystery in during a person’s lifetime.
POLICE LO
which lip prints aid in the solution of the crime. Transfer a lip print to a folded VING
5. You might ask students to review testimonial piece of paper by means of BODY ART
:
evidence in Chapter 2. Techniques that could a dark, washable lipstick or TATTOOS M
be explored include facial features, eye scans, lip gloss with subsequent AKE
IT EASIER
voice verification, ear classification, and hand powder dusting. You can then TO
SPOT CRIM
recognition. The principles are related to work out a method to classify INALS
Bertillon’s work of 100 years ago. Identity theft the resulting prints. See
and terrorism have increased the importance of Chapter 9, page 252. Police say tattoos
look great in book
biometric identification. Examples abound: “keys” photos and can be ing
4. Explore the social issues downright charm
to unlocking computer files, airport security, etc. in lineups. Now, vi ing
around fingerprinting and a computer netw
cops and witnesse or ks,
other means the government s far and wide are
sharing the fashio
Teacher Note uses to confirm individual n fun.
identity, considering —from a local M
Now is a good time to assess your students’ learning by ichigan
issues such as too much newspaper, 2007
having them complete Puzzle 4.1, found on the Teacher
Resource CD as Blackline Master 4.11. government, “Big Brother”
watchdog, and the like.
5. Biometrics uses biological information to verify identity.
The basic idea behind biometrics is that our bodies contain
unique properties that can be used to distinguish each of us
from all other human beings. Discuss the latest technology in
identification techniques. How are some related to historical
bases?
6. Explore the role tattoos may have in identification. Look for
actual examples.
102 Chapter 4
References
Books and Articles Films and Videos

Beavan, C. Fingerprints: The Origins of Crime Nova Video, “Hunt for the Serial Arsonist.”
Detection and the Murder Case that Launched Suspicious fires were breaking out all over greater
Forensic Science. New York: Hyperion Books, Los Angeles. 60 min on one DVD.http://shop.
2001. wgbh.org/product/search?terms=serial+arsonist
Evans, C. The Casebook of Forensic Detection.
New York: John Wiley, 1966.
Fisher, D. Chapter 5 of Hard Evidence. New York:
Websites
Dell, 1995. www.crimelibrary.com/forensics/fingerprints; the
Kurland, M. Chapter 5 of How to Solve a Murder. “Night Stalker” case
New York: MacMillan, 1995. www.crimeandclues.com; good general links
Lee, H. C., and Gaensslen, R. E., eds. Advances in http://whyfiles.org/133crime_lab/3.html; the criminal
Fingerprint Technology (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, justice system and fingerprints
FL: CRC Press, 2001. www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/org/systems.htm; forensic
Noble, D. “The Disappearing Fingerprints,” Chem systems, including AFIS
Matters, February 1997, pp. 9–12. www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/fsc/backissu/jan2001/lpu.pdf;
Ragle, Larry. Crime Scene. New York: Avon Books, FBI manual on processing latent prints
2002. www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/takingfps.html; a good reference
for taking fingerprints
www.ridgesandfurrows.homestead.com/index;
everything you ever wanted to know about
fingerprints, including history, anatomy,
developing, classification, and the like
Fingerprints 103

04 Fingerprints

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

04 Fingerprints

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

04 Fingerprints

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

kh00116_CH04.

indd Page 70 8/20/08 9:56:44 PM u-s081 /Volumes/110/KHUS021/indd%0/Ch 04

• Why ﬁngerprints are individual evidence.

You will be able to:

• Deﬁne the three basic properties that allow

“Fingerprints cannot lie, but liars can

At the Crime Scene

Magnified finger ridges

The History of Fingerprints

in identiﬁcation. He described an ink-and-transfer method of recording

In 1901 an Argentinean police ofﬁcial, Juan Vucetich, set up a workable

In the early 1900s, the ﬁngerprint system

Will West William West

The Anatomy of Fingerprints

sweat gland duct dermis

nerve ending papillae

vein sweat gland

friction ridge structure of the epidermis. Chemically

Observing and Taking Fingerprints Laboratory

Procedure Notes, continued Laboratory Activity 4.1, continued

3. Further observations: Examine your 10-print card using a magnifying

FBI 10-print card

Figure 4.3 Loops

WHORL CENTRAL POCKET DOUBLE ACCIDENTAL

Henry Classification System

Figure 4.5 Arches

Figure 4.6 Primary classification scheme based on whorls

prints is submitted to the FBI for comparison,

Table 4.2: Frequency of Fingerprint Patterns

If a given outcome or event is repeated N times, then

Ridge Classification (Individualization)

Ridge ending Bifurcation or fork

Island or short ridge Dot

Eye or enclosure Double bifurcation

Figure 4.7 Individual ridge characteristics

Figure 4.8 Ridge characteristics in an inked print

Presenting Fingerprints as Evidence

Two items taken from

That new job asking for fing

Figure 4.10 Dillinger’s altered fingerprints

How would scars affect identiﬁcation?

prints on porous paper. Ninhydrin is

Laboratory Developing Latent Fingerprints

Laboratory Activity 4.2, continued Procedure Notes

Procedure Notes, continued Laboratory Activity 4.2, continued

Procedure Notes Dusting technique Dusting for fingerprints

Laboratory Activity 4.2, continued Procedure Notes, continued

Further Development with the Ninhydrin Print (optional)

Laboratory Activity 4.2, continued

Superglue (Cyanoacrylate) Fuming

Lifting prints from can

Prints developed by fuming

Laboratory Activity 4.2, continued

5. Replace the lid on the chamber and turn on the light.

A method that can be used to compare a latent print to an inked one is to

Figure 4.12 Identification algorithm

Burton will serve More sophisticated chemical methods

Taking a digital fingerprint

The resulting array may look like a drunken spider’s web,

Computer image of digitized prints