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Forensic 2

Fingerprints have been used for centuries to identify individuals. No two people have the same fingerprints. Sir Francis Galton scientifically proved in the 1880s that fingerprints are unique to each person and remain unchanged throughout their life. In the early 20th century, law enforcement agencies began systematically collecting and classifying fingerprints to use as criminal evidence. Today, the FBI's IAFIS database contains over 200 million fingerprint records and allows matches to be made within two hours.

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Jerome Jr. , Fermilan Garillos
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23 views

Forensic 2

Fingerprints have been used for centuries to identify individuals. No two people have the same fingerprints. Sir Francis Galton scientifically proved in the 1880s that fingerprints are unique to each person and remain unchanged throughout their life. In the early 20th century, law enforcement agencies began systematically collecting and classifying fingerprints to use as criminal evidence. Today, the FBI's IAFIS database contains over 200 million fingerprint records and allows matches to be made within two hours.

Uploaded by

Jerome Jr. , Fermilan Garillos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Name: Jerome F. Garillos Jr.

Subject: Forensic 2

Fingerprints: The First ID

Fingerprints are the oldest and most accurate method of identifying individuals. No two
people (not even identical twins) have the same fingerprints, and it is extremely easy for
even the most accomplished criminals to leave incriminating fingerprints at the scene of
a crime. The following is an introduction to fingerprint identification in the context
of criminal evidence.

How Are Fingerprints Identified?

Each fingerprint has a unique set of ridges and points that can be seen and identified by
trained experts. If two fingerprints are compared and one has a point not seen on the
other, those fingerprints are considered different. If there are only matching points and
no differences, the fingerprints can be deemed identical. There is no set number of
points required, but the more points, the stronger the identification.

Fingerprints can be visible or latent; latent fingerprints can often be seen with special
ultraviolet lights, although on some surfaces a simple flashlight will identify the print.
Experts use fingerprint powder or chemicals to set a print; they then "lift" the print using
special adhesives.

The History of Fingerprint Identification

The use of fingerprint ID goes back to ancient times, although the use of DNA
evidence is considered more accurate today.

In ancient Babylonia and China, thumbprints and fingerprints were used on clay tablets
and seals as signatures. The idea that fingerprints might be unique to individuals’ dates
from the fourteenth century. In 1686 the physiologist Marcello Malpighi examined
fingerprints under a microscope and noted a series of ridges and loops. In 1823,
another physiologist, Jan Purkinje, noted at least nine different fingerprint patterns.

The pioneer in fingerprint identification was Sir Francis Galton, an anthropologist by


training, who was the first to show scientifically how fingerprints could be used to
identify individuals. Beginning in the 1880s, Galton (a cousin of Charles Darwin) studied
fingerprints to seek out hereditary traits. He determined through his studies not only that
no two fingerprints are exactly alike, but also that fingerprints remain constant
throughout an individual's lifetime. Galton published a book on his findings in 1892 in
which he listed the three most common fingerprint types: loop, whorl, and arch. These
classifications are still used today.
It didn't take long for law enforcement officials to recognize the potential value of
fingerprint evidence. Sir Edward Richard Henry, a British official stationed in India,
began to develop a system of fingerprint identification for Indian criminals. (Henry
created 1,024 primary fingerprint classifications.) In Argentina, Juan Vucetich, a police
official, also used Galton's findings to create a fingerprint system (he used Galton's
research to make a fingerprint identification of a murderer in 1892).

By the beginning of the twentieth century, Scotland Yard had begun to compile
fingerprint information, using a classification system based on Henry's work and
creating a Central Fingerprint Bureau. In the United States, the New York Police
Department, the New York State Prison System, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons
instituted a fingerprint system in 1903, and in 1905, the U.S. Army began using
fingerprint identification.

The first murder case in the United States in which fingerprint evidence was used
successfully was in Illinois in 1910, when Thomas Jennings was accused of murdering
Clarence Hiller after his fingerprints were found at Hiller's house. Jennings appealed his
conviction, but the Supreme Court of Illinois upheld the evidence in 1911 and Jennings
was executed in February 1912. People v. Jennings thus established fingerprint
evidence as a reliable standard.

Use of Fingerprints Today

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) established a fingerprint repository through its


Identification Division beginning in 1924. This repository held fingerprint cards in a
central location. Over the next 50 years the FBI processed more than 200 million
fingerprint cards.

To eliminate duplicate fingerprints and make it easier to store and share fingerprints
among law enforcement agencies, the FBI developed the Automated Fingerprint
Identification System (AFIS) in 1991, which computerized the card system. The
Integrated AFIS system (IAFIS) was introduced in 1999; a law enforcement official can
request a set of criminal prints from IAFIS and get a response within two hours.

Fingerprints are kept for criminals, but civil fingerprints are also kept. People who apply
for government jobs, jobs that handle confidential information, banking jobs, teaching
jobs, law enforcement jobs, and any job that involves security issues can be
fingerprinted. IAFIS stores civil prints as well as criminal prints.

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