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Identical Twins share the same DNA but not the same fingerprints
Caught Red
Handed
around for more than 20 years and, whats more, our Hong
Kong courts have accepted these results. Since this method
works by turning the skin of the person handling the item a
bright magenta colour, they might be described as being caught
red handed (Somehow caught magenta handed doesnt have
quite the same ring to it!).
This article will introduce you to this fascinating test and show
how it can be used to prove that a suspect has held a weapon
or even carried a gun pressed against their skin at the waist.
And the Hong Kong connection?
Well, although most of the developmental work was carried
out by Israeli forensic scientists, some important research was
also performed by chemists in the Forensic Division of the
Hong Kong Government Laboratory during the 1980s.2 An
additional Hong Kong connection is much more recent last
year, to be precise. At the 17th Meeting of the International
Association of Forensic Sciences held in Hong Kong in August
2005, Professor Joseph Almog of The Hebrew University in
Jerusalem, Israel, was awarded the prestigious Lucas Medal for
his contribution to forensic science, a large part of which related
to this simple but incredibly useful technique.
found, this is good evidence that the person has either fired the
gun or been near to someone who discharged the weapon.
So, GSR identification is a great method if the gun has
been fired. It is also a great method if suspects were detained
before having a chance to shower and change their clothes.
And it is a great method if the sophisticated (and very
expensive) instruments for analyzing GSRs are readily
available. Unfortunately, in the imperfect world of crime scene
investigation, this is not always the case.
Hopefully, by now you will want to know the identity of
this useful substance that can show whether someone held
a gun even though it was not fired. Additionally, what is it
in the gun that makes the skin turn this attractive shade of
deep pink? Does the method have any drawbacks? And can the
test be used with the expensive GSR technique?
Well, first things first. The chemical responsible for the
colour change has several names including a so-called trivial
name (Ferrozine) and two commercial names (Ferrotrace and
Ferroprint). It also has a proper chemical name but since this
is made up of 61 letters, 7 numerals, a set of brackets and sundry
other dashes and commas, you might not be really interested. 3
The trivial and commercial names of the product give you a
clue as to what the chemical actually detects. The Ferrozine
reagent reacts with minute amounts of IRON that have been
transferred from the surface of the weapon to the skin of the
handler by perspiration and the reaction between the iron
and the Ferrozine reagent produces a magenta stain showing the
shape of the item that had been handled or otherwise pressed
closely to the skin as in a gun which has been pressed against
someones waist.
Ferrozine shows where gun was carried.
Its as simple as that.
Actually, nothing in life is that simple! There are several things
that must be considered. The first is whether the Ferrozine
reagent only detects iron or if other substances deposited on the
skin can produce similar or even dierent colours. Many years
ago, forensic scientists were concerned about these issues but
chemical modifications to the modern commercially available
product have ensured that this is no longer a problem the
This article was rst published in Culture Hong Kong, Issue 20, August 2006, under
the original title of Forensic Super Sleuth
Text Sheilah Hamilton
Layout Culture Hong Kong