Professional Documents
Culture Documents
NOTES ON CRIMINALISTICS
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION
Criminalistics
= Is the application of the principles of various sciences in solving problems in connection with
the administration of justice.
= Also referred to as Forensic Science or Police Science.
The word forensic was derived from the Latin word “Forum” which means a “market place”,
a place where people gathered for “public discussion” . When it is used in conjunction with other
sciences it simply connotes the idea of application to law or for the administration of justice.
Sometimes it is also referred to as “legal”.
Dr. Hans Gross = An Australian magistrate to described Search for Truth as the ultimate goal of all
investigative and detective works. He is known as the Father of Modern Criminalistics.
A. PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION
“Law of Multiplicity of Evidence” The greater number of similarities or dissimilarities; the
greater is the probability for the conclusion to be correct.
Alphonse Bertillion = Father of Personal Identification. The first to devise a scientific method
of identification called Anthropometry.
A fingerprint was first used in China before the birth of Christianity. They called it Hua Chi.
I. Personalities in Fingerprints:
1. Nehemiah Grew (1684) – describes the ridges and pores of the hands and feet (Philosophical
Transaction) presented in Royal Society of London, England.
2. Govard . Bibloo – works on the sweat pores and ridges.
3. Marcelo Malpighi (1628-1694) – Professor at the University of Bolognia, Italy, known for his
discovery of the Epidermis and Dermis layer. Written the book entitled “De Externo Tactus
Organo” Father of Dactyloscopy.
4. J.C.A. Mayer (1788) – the first to state that fingerprints are never duplicated in two persons (
Anatomiche Kuphertafeln).
5. Johannes Purkenjie (1823) – Professor at the University of Breslau, Germany. Established a
certain role for classification and be able to identify nine (9) types of pattern although never
associated to identification
6. Herman Welcker – took his own fingerprints twice with a lapse of forty-one years and show the
ridges formation remains the same.
7. William Herschel – the first to advocate the use of fingerprints as substitute for signature from
among Indian native to avoid impersonation.
Rajadhar Konai = the first person Herschel printed the palm.
8. Henry Faulds – A surgeoon at Tsukuji Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, who claimed that latent prints
would provide positive identification of offenders once apprehended ( A Manual of Practical
Dactyloscopy).
9. Francis Galton – Developed the Arch. Loop and Whorl Patterns as general classification and
identified nine (9) types of pattern. First to establish a Civil Bureau of Personal Identification. He
said that the possibility of two prints being alike was 1:65,000,000,000.
10. Edward Richard Henry – Developed the Henry System of Classification at Scotland Yard which
was accepted by almost all English-speaking country. Known as Father of Fingerprint.
Khan Bahadur Azizul Haque and Rai Hem Chandra Bose – the two Hindu police officers
who have help Henry in attaining his goal.
11. Juan Vucetich – A Spanish counterpart of Henry who developed his own system of classification
in Argentina and was accepted in almost all Spanish Speaking country.
IN AMERICA
Gilbert Thompson = a geologist in New Mexico, adopted the first individual use of fingerprint in
august 8, 1882 as a protection to prevent tampering with the pay order.
Isaiah West Tabor = Photographer in San Francisco who advocated the use of the system for
the registration of the immigrant Chinese.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens = An Englishman who informally introduced Dactyloscopy in the
United States in his book “ Life in the Mississippi” and “ Pupp n Head Wilson”.
Francis Galton
Dr. Henry p De Forest = Utilized the first Municipal Civil use of fingerprint for Criminal
Registration on December 1902 (Mun. Civil Service Comm., New York).
Capt. James L. Parke = Advocate the first state and penal use of fingerprint adopted in
SingSing prison on June 5, 1903 later on Auburn Napanoch and Clinton Penitentiaries.
Sgt. John Kenneth Ferrier = First fingerprint instructor at St. Louis Police Dept. Missouri.
Maj. R. Mc Cloughry = warden of the Federal Penitentiaries of Leaven Worth. Established the
first official National Government use of fingerpprint.
Mary K. Holand = first American instructress in dactyloscopy.
FBI = identification unit herein was officially established by an act of congress in 1924.
Institute of Applied Science = First private school to install laboratories for instruction purposes
in dactyloscopy.
People vs. Jennings, Dec. 21, 1911 = United States leading case wherein the first conviction
based on fingerprint was recognized by the judicial authorities (14 points).
IN THE PHILIPPINES
Mr. Jones = one who first taught FP in the Phils. (1900)
Bureau of Prison = (1968) CARPETAS fingerprint was used.
Generoso Reyes – First Filipino Fingerprint Technician employed by P.C.
Isabela Bernales – first Filipina Fingerprint Technician
Capt. Thomas Dugan, New York Police Dept. and Flaviano Guerrero, FBI Washington – gave
the first examination in FP in 1927 and Agustin Patricio of the Phils. Top the Examination
People of the Phils. Vs. Medina- First conviction base on Fingerprint and leading case decision
in the Phil. Jurisprudence (10 points).
Plaridel Education Institute (PEI) now known as Phil. College of Criminology, first government
recognized school to teach the Science of Fingerprint and other Police Sciences.
John Dellinger – known U.S. public enemy number one who attempt to destroy his own prints
using corrosive acids.
Robert James Pitts – works on Surgery to forged his own fingerprints and was named “Man
without fingerprint”
Lucila Lalu – the first Filipina Chop-chop lady who was identified through fingerprint.
Alphonse Bertillion – known as the Father of the first scientific method of Identification
(Anthropometry)
DACTYLOSCOPY
Definition
Dactyloscopy – (derived from the Latin words Dactyl = finger and Skopien – to study or examine) is
the practical application of the science of fingerprints.
Dactylography – is the scientific study of fingerprint as a means of identification.
Dactylomancy – is the scientific study of fingerprint for purposes of personality interpretation.
Dermatoglyphics = is the science which deals with the study of skin pattern. It is derived from two
Greek words, Derma which means Skin and Glype which means Carve.
Fingerprints
Is an impression design by the first joint of the fingers and thumb on smooth surface through
the media of ink, sweat or any substance capable of producing visibility.
Phalange = is the skeletal finger covered with friction skin. It is made up of three bones.
a. Basal or proximal phalange – it is located at the base of the finger nearest the palm.
b. Middle phalange = the next and above the basal done.
c. Terminal phalange = the particular bone covered with friction skin, having all the different
types of fingerprint patterns and it is located near the tip of the finger.
Friction Skin – is an epidermal hairless skin found on the ventral or lower surface of the hands and
feet covered with ridges and furrows.(Also called as Papillary skin).
Components of the Friction Skin
1. Ridge surface
a. Ridge – the elevated or hill like structure/ the black lines with tiny white dots.
b. Furrow – the depressed or canal like structure/ the white space between
ridges.
2. Sweat pores – the tiny opening/ the tiny white dots.
3. Sweat duct – the passage way.
4. Sweat glands – the producers of sweat.
Ridge Formation – (Ridges starts to form in the fingers and thumb during the 3rd to 4th months of
the fetus life.)
Dermal Papillae = are irregular pegs composed of delicate connective tissue protruding and
forming the ridges of the skin on the fingers, palms, toes and soles of the feet.
Ridge Destruction – destruction of the friction skin can either be temporary or permanent.
Generally temporary destruction occur when only the epidermis layer of the friction skin has been
damage, while permanent damage can be injected to the friction skin due to damage to the dermis
layer.
2. Bifurcation – a ridge formation in which a single ridge splits or divides into two or more ridges. It
resembles a fork shape.
7. Type lines – is a diverging ridge that tends to surround the pattern area and serves as a basic
boundary of fingerprint impression.
8. Pattern Area – is a part of a loop of whorl pattern surrounded by the type lines and consisting of
the delta, the core and other ridges.
9. Recurving ridge – a single ridges that curves back to the direction where it started.
10. Sufficient Recurve – a recurving ridge which is complete with its should and free from any
appendage.
12. Rod or Bar – is a short of long ridge found inside the recurve and directed towards the core
13. Obstruction ridge – is a short ridge found inside the recurve which blocks the inner line of flow
towards the core.
The sum of the numerical value assigned to even number of finger represent the numerator
and the sum of the assigned value to odd number represent the denominator Plus the pre-established
fraction of l/1 to complete the primary.
b. Secondary – Represented by Capital and small letter combination based on
interpretation made during the blocking.
Capital letter – derived from the index fingers which can be
(A, T, U, R, W, C, D or X).
Small letter – derived from the thumb, middle, ring and little
fingers.
It only includes the radial loop (r), plain arch (a) and tented arch (t).
c. Sub-secondary Division – derived by ridge counting of loop and ridge
Tracing of whorl found at the index, middle ring fingers only.
Outer Whorl (O) when the tracing ridge goes below or outside the right delta and
there are three (3) or more intervening ridges.
Meeting Whorl (M) when there are only two orless intervening ridge/s
c.3 Plain Arch and Tented Arch are always dash (-)
f. Key Division = derived by getting the ridge count of the first (l) loop except the little
fingers. In the absence of the loop, the first whorl will be ridge counted for the purpose.