P1: A Fingerprinting History

PrehistoricThe evidence proving mankind's interest in fingerprints can be dated back to the prehistoric period. Discovered in Nova Scotia was pictures of a hand with ridge patterns. To farther prove the interest in fingerprinting thumb prints from the ancient Chinese on clay seals. Furthermore in ancient Babylon, fingerprints were used on clay tablets for business transactions.

Early Discoveries

Marcello Malpighi found that there are ridges, spirals and loops in fingerprints. There was no referencing to using this tool as an personal identification tool. A layer of skin that is approximately 1.8mm thick was named after him called the "Malpighi". Later in the 1800's John Evangelist Purkinji published his thesis discussing 9 fingerprint patterns but still there was no concern of using the findings as an implement for idenification let alone a way to help in a criminal investigation.

Modern

In 1901, Henry was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Police at New Scotland Yard and began to introduce his fingerprint system into that institution. By the end of that year, the Fingerprint Office at New Scotland Yard was fully functional, the first British court conviction by fingerprints being obtained in 1902. Henry's book and classification system was being used by police forces and prison authorities throughout the English-speaking world.

http://www.aladdinusa.com/documentationservices/fingerhistory.htm

http://www.onin.com/fp/fphistory.html
http://www.policensw.com/info/fingerprints/finger02.html

P1: Types and Shapes of Fingerprints

There are three main fingerprint patterns: arches, loops and whorls. 5% of fingerprint patterns encounters are of the arch type. The four types of arch patterns consist of plain arches, radial arches, ulnar arches and tented arches. Then there are loops which occur in about 60-70 % of fingerprint patterns encountered. One or more of the ridges enters on either side of the impression, re-curves, touches or crosses the line running from the delta to the core and terminates on or in the direction of the side where the ridge or ridges entered.



When searching for fingerprints the three main types of fingerprints you will find are visible prints, latent prints and impressed prints. Visible prints or patent prints ar efound in some medium bloodlike subtances which reveals them to the naked eye. Latent which arent noticeable to unless powdered with chemicals are formed from the sweat from sebaceous glands on the body or water, salt, amino acids and oils contained in sweat. Impressed prints or plastic prints are indentations left in soft pliable surfaces, such as clay, wax, paint or another surface that will take the impression.

http://odec.ca/projects/2004/fren4j0/public_html/types_prints.htm

P1: Techniques and Procedures

Techniques
Fingerprinting techniques have come along way from it first started. In the beginning the Henry System was the main tool for identification of individual fingerprinting analysis meaning the arresting officer would have to manually compare prints taking them hours and even days. As technology advanced the FBI realized they needed a more automated system that could process fingerprints fast and accurately. Fortunately the Japanese were able to establishing the first electronic fingerprint matching system in the 1980s. Their Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS), eventually enabled law enforcement officials around the world to cross-check a print with millions of fingerprint records almost instantaneously. Which lead to the the introduction of Integrated AFIS (IAFIS). This system is maintained by the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division. It can categorize, search and retrieve fingerprints from virtually anywhere in the country in as little as 30 minutes. It also includes mug shots and criminal histories on some 47 million people. IAFIS allows local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to have access to the same huge database of information.

As far as lifting the fingerprints from a crime scene or such takes a different process with different chemicals.Experienced examiners find that black and gray powders are satisfactory for most latent print work. Therefore, the black powder, composed of black carbon or charcoal, is applied to white or light-colored surfaces. The gray powder, composed basically of an aluminum dust, is used on dark-colored surfaces; it is also applied to mirrors and metal surfaces that are polished to a mirror-like finish, because these surfaces will photograph black. These powders are applied lightly to a nonabsorbent surface with a fiberglass or camel's-hair brush, and will stick to perspiration residues and/or deposits of body oils left on the surface. In class we used talc or commonly known as baby powder to lift frints from a dark surface, then placing it on a dark sheet of paper to futher analys.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/fingerprinting4.htm