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Fingerprints (poroscopy)
Introduction
The discovery and reporting of a crime will in most cases lead to the start of an investigation by police, who may often rely on the specialized skills of the crime scene investigator to locate, evaluate and record the physical evidence left at, or removed from, the scene !uch investigations are reliant upon the physical transfer of material, whether it be obvious to the eye or otherwise It is the successful collection of this evidence that often assists the police in the prosecution of an offender before the court It has been said that "Few forms of evidence can permit the un#uestionable identification of an individual and only digital patterns $fingerprints% possess all the necessary #ualities for identification" It is the forensic use of these fingerprints that will now be addressed The skin on the inner surface of the hands and soles of the feet is different from skin on other areas of the body& it comprises numerous ridges, which form patterns, particularly on the tips of the fingers and thumbs '(amples of three primary pattern types, arch, loop and whorl, can be seen in Fig ) The ridges are not continuous in their flow, in that they randomly end or bifurcate *n e(ample of a ridge ending and a bifurcation can be seen in Fig + The ridge endings and bifurcations are often referred to as "characteristics", ",alton detail" (named after one of the early and influential pioneers of the science), "points" or "minutiae" The characteristics often combine to create various configurations and these have been assigned names, as can be seen in the e(amples provided in Fig - The "dot" (Fig -.) is often the sub/ect of debate as to whether it is uni#uely a characteristic, such as the ridge ending or bifurcation, or a combination of two ridge endings0 however, such debate is of academic value only The ridges themselves provide us with the ability to grip and hold on, and the skin in this conte(t is referred to as friction ridge skin 1n closer e(amination of the ridges it can be seen there are small sweat pores on their upper surface area and no hairs are present The perspiration, which is e(uded through the sweat pores, is primarily water0 on reaching the surface it will be deposited along the tops of the ridges *dditional matter or contaminates may also be present on the ridges, collected from oily regions of the body or some other foreign source, such as food, dirt, grease or blood 2hen an area of friction ridge skin comes into contact with a

surface, a deposit of the perspiration or contaminate may well be left on that surface, leaving an impression of the detail uni#ue to the individual * friction ridge skin impression is generally difficult to visualize and is often referred to as a latent deposit The impression may, however, be visible if it has been deposited in dirt, blood or some other easily seen medium There are some acids contained in the perspiration which may cause the impression to become "etched" into some soft metals, while friction ridges may also be impressed into soft media such as putty

Figure + (*) 3idge ending (4) 4ifurcation

Figure - 5onfigurations& (*) island or short ridge0 (4) lake or enclosure0 (5) spur0 (.) dot

'(amining the 5rime !cene

The crime scene will be e(amined by a scene of crime officer or a fingerprint technician In either case it will be the responsibility of that person to conduct an e(amination of the scene in an effort to locate and develop fingerprints that may have been left by the person who committed the offense It has been said that a scientific methodology must be applied to the crime scene e(amination, as follows&

) 6ake observations + *rrive at a hypothesis - Test the hypothesis against the physical evidence observed until it cannot be refuted !urprisingly, many e(aminers do completely the opposite when they undertake a crime scene e(amination The e(amination will generally be started at the point at which entry was gained, if this can be determined 5onsideration will be given to all surfaces or ob/ects that have been touched or handled during the commission of the crime, including the point of egress, should this be different than the point of entry For this e(amination to be thorough, it will be necessary to speak with either the investigating police or the victim of the crime !hould the crime scene officer or fingerprint technician have the opportunity of speaking with witnesses, vital information regarding items from or areas of the scene may be obtained The opportunity of speaking with witnesses is not often afforded to the crime scene officer or fingerprint technician and the investigating police are very much relied upon, along with the victim, for the provision of information that may assist in the e(amination

Figure ) Fingerprint patterns& (*) arch0 (4) loop0 (5) whorl *t serious crime scenes a more e(tensive e(amination will generally be undertaken This may include walls, bench tops or other large surfaces or items that may have been touched by the offender(s) during the commission of the offense The use of some of the techni#ues available for the e(amination of these surfaces or items may in itself be destructive0 therefore, the e(tent of their use must be considered with respect to the seriousness of the crime being investigated *ny visible friction ridge impressions should be recorded photographically ,enerally, it is not necessary to undertake any other means of improving the visualization of such impressions but a number of high7intensity forensic light sources are commercially available and may be taken to the crime scene to assist in e(amining the scene for fingerprints in the initial stages These light sources are not generally carried by the e(amining officer

when attending routine crime scenes, but are regularly used at serious crime scenes 2hen using them, it may be necessary to darken the scene by covering the windows, etc , or conducting the e(amination at night *n e(amination of a crime scene using a forensic light source may reveal fingermarks where the presence of some medium on the friction ridges responds to a particular wavelength in the light spectrum, enabling the mark to be visualized 3outine e(aminations of latent fingermarks may be initiated with the simple use of a light, such as a torch, played over a surface, followed by the application of an adhesive development powder to those surfaces, considered suitable for this process ,enerally, adhesive powders are only appropriate for the e(amination of smooth, nonporous surfaces, such as glass and painted wood or metal The selection of powder, white, gray or black, depends upon the surface color, keeping in mind that the ob/ective is to improve overall contrast of any impression located The powders are generally applied to the surfaces being e(amined with a light brushing techni#ue The brushes vary from soft s#uirrel hair to glass fiber 6agnetic powders are also available and are applied with a magnetic "wand" 1nce the latent friction ridge skin impression is visualized or developed, as is the term often used, it will be either photographed or lifted, using adhesive tape In either case, the impression should be photographed in situ to corroborate its location, should this be necessary at a later time * small label bearing a sizing graph and a uni#ue identifier should be affi(ed ad/acent to the impression for later printing of photographs at the correct and desired ratio !hould it be decided to lift the impression, this is then placed on to a suitable backing card, either black or white, depending on powder color, or on to a clear plastic sheet 6any ob/ects, particularly some types of plastics, and porous surfaces such as paper, are better e(amined using laboratory7based processes *ny such items located at the scene should be collected and sent to the laboratory for e(amination For permanent fi(tures at the scene not suitable for powder development, some laboratory7 based e(amination processes can, with appropriate preparation, be used !ome of these techni#ues are addressed in the ne(t section It must be remembered that, in using these processes at the crime scene, issues relating to health and safety must be considered and /urisdictional regulations must be adhered to In deciding which processes to use, se#uential e(amination procedures must be observed when attempting to visualize friction ridge skin impressions, whether at the scene or in the laboratory 4efore departing from the crime scene, it will be necessary for the crime scene officer, with the assistance of investigating police, to arrange for inked finger and palm prints to be obtained from all

persons who may have had legitimate access to the scene or items to be e(amined These inked impressions are generally referred to as elimination prints and should not be confused, as is often the case, with inked impressions that may be obtained from suspects for the purpose of eliminating them from police in#uiries !uch impressions are, in reality, obtained for the purpose of implicating rather than eliminating

8aboratory '(aminations
The most common methods of e(amining porous surfaces, such as paper, use chemicals such as .F1 (l,97diaza7:7fluorenone) and ninhydrin These chemicals react with amino acid groups that are present in perspiration If .F1and ninhydrin are both to be used, it is necessary to use .F1 first for best results Friction ridge skin impressions are generally difficult to visualize after processing with .F10 however, using a suitable high7intensity light source, in combination with appropriate filters, developed impressions will be photoluminescent, enabling photographic recording ;rocessing with ninhydrin will generally enable any impressions present to be visualized, in ambient light, as a purple image 1nce again, these can be recorded photographically If it is known that the paper items to be e(amined have been sub/ected to wetting then neither .F1nor ninhydrin is suitable The reason for this is that amino acids deposited into the porous surface, being water7soluble, will be diffused In such cases, however, a physical developer process can be used This process relies on nonsoluble components of the friction ridge skin deposit, which may have been collected through touching other areas of the body or foreign surface, still being present on the surface touched This process is more labor7intensive than methods using .F1 or ninhydrin, but is #uite effective The impressions which may develop can be seen as very dark gray images and are easily visualized on lighter colored papers Items such as plastic, foil, firearms and knives can be processed using cyanoacrylate esters, commonly known as superglue The items to be e(amined are placed into a closed chamber and a small amount of superglue is added <eating the superglue helps it to fume The glue will polymerize on to any fingerprint deposit which may be present on a given surface, appearing white and generally stable !hould the surface being e(amined be light in color, it will be necessary to enhance the developed impression with the use of dyes, stains or even powder 1nce stained or dyed, superglue7 developed impressions, like .F1, can then be visualized with the use of a high7intensity light source and appropriate filter, and then recorded photographically

'vidence 'valuation
*t the completion of the e(amination undertaken by the scenes of crime officer or fingerprint technician, the resulting adhesive fingerprint lifts or photographs will be forwarded to a fingerprint specialist This specialist will e(amine the impressions submitted and conduct comparisons with known persons or search e(isting records in an effort to establish a match 1n receiving the evidence, the fingerprint specialist will undertake an evaluation of the #uality of the impressions submitted 2hile a cursory evaluation is made at the crime scene, it is generally more definitive in an office environment with the appropriate lighting and e#uipment !hould it be determined that there is a significant lack of #uality and #uantity in the friction ridge skin impression, it may well be deemed, in the opinion of the specialist, to be of no value for any meaningful comparison It is e(tremely important, however, that the evidence be retained with the case file for record and presentation, should full disclosure of evidence be re#uired The remainder of the impressions would then be sub/ect to comparison with known "inked" finger and palm impressions These inked impressions are obtained by placing the desired area of friction ridge skin on to black printer"s ink and then placing the inked skin on to suitable white paper =sually, this would be a blank fingerprint form

Identification 6ethodology
The premises Fingerprint identification relies on the premise that detail contained in the friction ridges is uni#ue and unchanging The premises or fundamental principles of fingerprint identification are& > Friction ridges develop on the fetus in their definitive form before birth > Friction ridges are persistent throughout life e(cept for permanent scarring > Friction ridge patterns and the detail in small areas of friction ridges are uni#ue and never repeated > 1verall friction ridge patterns vary within limits which allow for classification The fourth premise is not strictly relevant to individualization, as classification only assists in narrowing the search by placing the fingerprints into organized groups

The analysis
In analysing the friction ridge skin impression, the fingerprint specialist will consider all levels of detail available This may simply be through consideration of pattern type, should this be obvious in

the impression located at the crime scene *n e(ample of this would be where an arch pattern, being the crime scene impression, is compared with known impressions, none of which can be seen to be arches, in which case the comparison may well be concluded at this time This pattern evaluation may be referred to as first level detail and can often be undertaken with little use of a magnifying glass !hould pattern types be consistent, or not be entirely obvious, which may generally be the case, it will then be necessary to commence e(amination of the ridge endings and bifurcations in an effort to determine whether the impressions were made by one and the same person These ridge endings and bifurcations, or "traditional" characteristics may be referred to as second level detail 1ften this is sufficient, and historically, this is the only detail contained in the impressions that would generally be used

'stablishing identity with "traditional"characteristics

In determining whether two friction ridge skin impressions have been made by one and the same person, it will be necessary to locate sufficient ridge endings and bifurcations in true relative position and coincidental se#uence To achieve this, an e(amination of one of the impressions, generally that recovered from the crime scene, will be initiated 1ne, or perhaps two, characteristics may be observed and compared with characteristics appearing in the second impression, which would usually be the inked impression 1nce such characteristics are located to the satisfaction of the e(aminer, a further e(amination of the first impression will be made in an effort to locate any additional characteristic *gain, the second impression will be e(amined to locate that characteristics <aving done this, the e(aminer will insure the characteristics observed are in the correct se#uence, which means that each of the characteristics must be separated by the same number of intervening ridges In addition, their position relative to each other must be considered *n e(ample of the process can be seen in Fig ? In the two impressions shown in the figure, it can be seen that the marked characteristics are in relative position with one another It can also be seen that the number of intervening ridges between points, for e(ample l and +, are the same in each impression 7five intervening ridges in this case 8ikewise, there are three intervening ridges between points + and - This process is continued throughout an e(amination until the e(aminer is either satisfied that an identification has been established, or that the impressions are not identical *s an e(ercise, continue counting the intervening ridges between

the marked points The following is a selection against which you may compare your own findings&points ? and @ A five intervening ridges0 points @ and : A nil intervening ridges (trace the ridge from point @ and you will arrive at point :)0 points )B and 9 A eight intervening ridges

Cumeric standards
*s stated, fingerprint specialists have historically relied on the ridge endings and bifurcations for individualizing friction ridge skin impressions =sed in the manner discussed, this has resulted in the creation of numeric standards0 that is to say, standards were set establishing a predetermined number of characteristics to be present, in relative position and se#uence, before a fingerprint identification could be positively established for court presentation These predeter7mined numeric standards differed throughout the world and have shown variations from D to )@ 'ach country had their own reason for their preferred standard, although many were based on statistical models that demonstrated the probability of no two people having the same fingerprint

Figure ? Friction ridge skin impressions& (*) crime scene0 (4) inked !ee te(t for discussion In l:D-, the International *ssociation for Identification (I*I) met for their annual conference in Eackson, 2yoming, =!* * statement declaring no valid basis e(ists at this time for re#uiring that a predetermined minimum of friction ridge characteristics must be

present in two impressions in order to establish positive identification,was subse#uently adopted by all Corth *merican fingerprint identification e(aminers This began a philosophy whereby an opinion of identification was not based on the number of characteristics present in two impressions Cew !outh 2ales ;olice, in *ustralia, followed this direction in the early ):9Bs and, in doing so, broke away from the national standard, which was )+ The *ustralian Federal ;olice and the Corthern Territory ;olice (*ustralia) also soon adopted a nonnumeric philosophy In )::9, it was agreed that the national standard in *ustralia be accepted as nonnumeric0 however, state /urisdictions are at liberty to maintain "office policy" regarding minimum standards The =nited Fingdom maintains a numeric standard of )@ friction ridge skin characteristics before an identification can be presented at court, in routine circumstances0 this is considered by many to be e(tremely conservative This standard was challenged in a report prepared in ):9:, which, however, was only released to a meeting in Ce"urim, Israel, in Eune )::G The report was soon published in Fingerprint 2horld The following resolution was agreed upon and unanimously approved by members at that meeting& Co scientific basis e(ists for re#uiring that a predetermined minimum number of friction ridge features must be present in two impressions in order to establish positive identification Cote the significant difference in the resolution, "no scientific basis e(ists compared with the I*I declaration, "no validbasis e(ists The detail contained on and along the friction ridges, such as the sweat pores and ridge edges, are as uni#ue to the individual as are the combination of ridge endings and bifurcations and may be used to support a fingerprint identification This detail may be referred to as third level detail with its uni#ueness soundly based in science Third level detail is being increasingly accepted and used by fingerprint specialists rather than simply relying on a predetermined number of bifurcations and ridge endings The scientific application of all the uni#ue detail contained in the friction ridge skin is now being encompassed in a form of study being referred to more commonly as forensic ridgeology

3idgeology
!tructure of friction ridge skin
To assist in understanding ridgeology, a description of the structure of friction ridge skin may be a good point at which to begin This skin comprises two primary layers& the inner, or dermal, layer0 and the outer, or epidermal, layer 2ithin the epidermal layer are five sublayers, the innermost layer being the basal This layer connects

to papillae pegs, which are visualized on the outer surface of the dermis The basal layer generates cells that migrate to the surface of the skin This migration, among other functions, enables the persistence of the detail visible in the friction ridges From within the dermal layer, sweat ducts, from the eccrine gland, twist their way to the tops of the friction ridges, where small sweat pores may be seen The friction ridges themselves are constructed of ridge units, which may vary in size, shape and alignment, and "are sub/ected to differential growth factors, while fusing into rows and growing" The ridges are three7dimensional, creating a uni#ueness in the formation of the friction ridges, even in a very small area 3andom forces, which result in differential growth, also affect the location of the sweat pore openings within a ridge unit The detail associated with the sweat pores and the minute detail located on the ridge edges is significantly smaller than the traditional characteristics It is however the minute detail and differential growth, which determines the position of the ridge endings and bifurcations, and overall ridge shape

;oroscopy
;oroscopy is the method of establishing identity by a comparison of the sweat pores along the friction ridges0 it was e(tensively studied by the French crimi7nologist, 'dmond 8ocard, who found that sweat pores varied in size from 99 to ++B um 8ocard demonstrated the value of poroscopy in the criminal trial of 4oudet and !imonin in ):)+, in which he marked up some :B) separate sweat pores and more than +BBB in a palm print recovered from the crime scene 1ther such cases involving much lower numbers of sweat pores have been documented in more recent times

'dgeoscopy
The term edgeoscopy surfaced in an article which appeared in Finger ;rint andldentification 6agazine in ):@+ The author suggested the use of ridge edges in con/unction with other friction ridge detail, which may be present, and assigned names to seven common edge characteristics, which included conve(, concave, peak, pocket and angle

*dditional friction ridge skin detail

Further detail that may be utilized by the fingerprint e(aminer includes scarring, usually of a permanent nature, and fle(ion creases In e(amining the palm area of the hands, the predominant fle(ion creases can be seen to be the point where the skin folds when you start to make a fist of your hand The persistence of these

creases was demonstrated by !ir 2illiam <erschel who compared two separate impressions of his own left hand taken -B years apart Two murder trials in which fle(ion crease identifications were made have been conducted in Corth *merica ;ermanent scarring is created by in/uries which may be inflicted upon the inner e(tremities of the epidermis, effectively damaging the dermal papillae 1nce such a scar is created, it too becomes a permanent feature of the particular area of friction ridge skin This permanence allows for such a scar to be used in the identification process when it appears in the two impressions being compared

Fingerprints and ,enetics

The friction ridge detail appearing on the palmar and plantar surfaces of identical, or monozygotic, twins will be as different and varied as will be encountered in each of us It must be remembered that it is the detail located within and along the ridges that enables us to individualize areas of friction ridge skin The pattern the ridges form, however, may very well be influenced by genetics * number of publications have resulted from the study of the development of friction ridge skin These studies were lengthy, so no attempt to disseminate their contents will be made in this discussion0 however, a brief and very simplified account of their outcome is provided In the development of a human fetus, volar pads form and become evident around the si(th week The placement of the volar pads conform to a morphological plan, and the placement and shape of these pads, which are raised areas on the hand, may influence the direction of the friction ridge flow, which in turn creates the particular pattern types that may be seen '(amples of this, it is believed, would be high cent7red pads, creating whorls, while intermediate pads with a trend are believed to form loops 2hile genetics may influence the pattern formation and general flow of the ridges, the location of ridge endings, bifurcations and other detail contained within each ridge is the result of differential growth at the developmental stage

5onclusion
Fingerprints have been used for personal identification for many years, but not as much as they have throughout the twentieth century It has been scientifically established that no two individuals have the same friction ridge skin detail, nor will one small area of this skin be duplicated on the same individual This fact will not alter, nor therefore, will the importance of the fingerprint science and the role it plays in the criminal investigation process

Ce(t ;revious

3elated Topics &&

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