Fingerprinting

Methods of Identification
Presumptive vs. Positive

ID
 Personal viewing of victim
 Fingerprints
 Dental records
 Radiographs and anthropology
 DNA analysis
 Facial/photo superimposition
 Scars, marks, tattoos, etc.
 Personal effects
– Clothing, body artifacts
 Environment
Fingerprinting
History
 1880- Dr. Henry Faulds
– First used fingerprints at a crime scene to ID the
perpetrator
 1892- Sir Francis Galton
– Published first textbook “Fingerprints”
 1897- Sir Edward Henry
– Proposed a classification system adopted by Scotland Yard
– System still widely used
 1910-
– Accepted by US as a method of identification
 1930-
– FBI set up National fingerprint file
What is a fingerprint?
Layers of
the Skin
 Epidermis
 Dermis
 Hypodermis
Dermis - Papillary layer
 Superficial, ~20% of
dermis
 Dermal papillae form

ridges on hands and
feet to increase friction
Dermis - Reticular layer
 Deeper, thick layer

 Flexure lines – dermal
infoldings at wrist,
palms, knees, etc. to
secure skin to deep
tissue
 Eccrine sweat glands -
primarily for
thermoregulation
 Sebaceous glands - oil
 Develop in utero ~13-15 weeks of
gestation
 Ridges are unique and permanent
 The patterns never changes except in
size
 Print left by secretions from pores in
the ridges
 18 major components
– Primarily water, amino acids + salts
– Some oils
General features of all
prints
 Ridges / ridge
lines – raised
part of the skin,
~150 per finger
 Furrows –
lowered skin
 Minutiae – small,
unique ridge
characteristics
 Delta – point
where 3 ridge
lines meet in a
triangle
 Core – center of
the fingerprint
General classifications
 Loops
– 60-70% of the population
 Whorls
– 25-35%
 Arches
– 5%
Loops
One or more of the ridges
enters on one side of the
impression 
recurves 
touches or crosses the line
running from the delta to the
core 
and terminates one the same
side where the ridges entered
 There is one delta.

 The number of ridge lines
forming the loop is an
identifying characteristic too
Types of loops
 Two bones in the
lower arm
 Radius - attaches to
wrist/hand closest to
the thumb
 Ulna – attaches
closest to little finger
 Radial loop
– Ridge lines enter/exit on the side of the
finger pointing towards the thumb
– Not common
 Ulnar loop
– Ridge lines enter/exit on the side of the
finger pointing towards the little finger
Whorls
 2 or more deltas
Types of Whorls
 Plain whorl
 Consists of one or more ridges

which make or tend to make a
complete circuit, with 2 deltas
 If an imaginary line is drawn
between deltas, there is at least
one recurving ridge within the
inner pattern area that is cut or
touched.
 At least one type line forms a
circle
 Central pocket whorl
 Consists of one or a few

ridges which make or tend to
make a complete circuit, with
2 deltas
 If an imaginary line is drawn
NO recurving ridges within the
inner pattern are cut or
touched.
 At least one type line forms a
circle
 Double loop whorl
 Consists of two
separate and distinct
loop formations with
two separate and
distinct shoulders and
two deltas.
 Accidental whorl
 Contains 3 or more
deltas
Arches
 Ridges run from one side to the other,

making no backward turn.
 Generally there is no delta + no
significant core
 If there is a delta recurving ridge must
intervene between the core and delta
points.
Types of arches
 Plain arch
 The overall pattern

area tends to just
flow through the
print with no
significant changes
Types of arches
 Tented arch
 Contains a
significant upthrust
Composites
 Include
patterns in
which
combinations
of the tented
arch, loop
and whorl are
found in the
same print
Fingerprint ID Practice
 Assume prints are from the left hand

A B C
D E F
Plain whorl Ulnar loop Tented arch
Plain arch Central pocket whorl Double loop whorl

Minutiae
 Unique identifying points

 FBI requires 8 for a positive ID
– Ranges from 5-12 in different states
Types of minutiae
 Ridge ending
 Bifurcation/
Trifurcation
 Dot
 Island
– Ridge line
 Lake
– Enclosure
 Crossover
 Bridge
 Ellipse
 Spur
Fingerprint ID techniques
 1. Take a ten-
print
– ID general
classification for
each finger
Fingerprint ID techniques
 2. Balloon print of right index finger

– ID general classification
– ID as many different types of minutiae as
possible
Types of prints found in
the environment
 Latent
– Formed by oil + sweat deposited by a person’s
fingers when they touch a surface
– Invisible to the naked eye, must be developed
 Visible
– Prints contaminated with blood, ink, etc. that
leave visible prints
 Plastic (molded)
– Impression left in a soft substance (i.e. soap,
wax)
Latent print detection
 1. Dusting powders
– Normal
 Grey vs. black
– Magnetic
– Fluorescent
 Good for hard or non-
absorbent surfaces
 2. Cyanoacrylate
fuming
 Turns a latent print

into a permanent
visible print (arrested
print)
 Good for plastics +

metals
 3. Iodine fuming
 Good for paper

 4. Ninhydrin
spray
 Good for
paper, reacts
with amino
acid residues
in sweat
 5. Silver nitrate (physical developers)
 Good for porous surfaces like

currency, wood + cardboard,
recognizes lipids
Methods of Comparison
 Henry Primary Classification System
 Calculate the value given the following equation:
Pair #
1 2 3 4 5
R. Index + R. Ring + L. Thumb + L. Middle + L. Little + 1

R. Thumb + R. Middle + R. Little + L. Index + L. Ring + 1
 Numerical value assigned to any WHORL in
the numerator or denominator
 Pair 1 = 16
 Pair 2 = 8
 Pair 3 = 4
 Pair 4 = 2
 Pair 5 = 1
 ARCHES and LOOPS = 0

Example
 Whorls ID’d in right index and left index
fingers
 Arches or loops everywhere else
 What is the Primary Classification value?
Remember:
Example
16 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 1 = 17
0+0+0+2+0+1 = 3
AFIS – Automated fingerprint identification
system
 Computer scanners identify ridge endings
and bifurcations only, and their relative
positions are mapped
 Prints lifted at the crime scene are compared
to fingerprints on file
 A group of suspect fingerprint cards is
identified
 An examiner does a point by point
comparison
 The computer can compare the suspect's
print to 500,000 fingerprint cards in less
than a second
 Computer enhancement can also
compensate for imperfections in lifted latent
prints

Fingerprinting

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Methods of Identification

Presumptive vs. Positive

 Dermal papillae form

 Deeper, thick layer

 There is one delta.

 Consists of one or more ridges

 Consists of one or a few

 Ridges run from one side to the other,

 The overall pattern

 Assume prints are from the left hand

Plain arch Central pocket whorl Double loop whorl

 Unique identifying points

 2. Balloon print of right index finger

 Turns a latent print

 Good for plastics +

 Good for paper

 Good for porous surfaces like

R. Index + R. Ring + L. Thumb + L. Middle + L. Little + 1

 ARCHES and LOOPS = 0

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