Preliminary investigation of the ability of fingerprint examiners in detection of sib-sib relationships based upon finger and palm prints similarities.

Variations in biometric parameters such as fingerprints between populations, genders and even twins are wide-ranging issues routinely examined by the forensic community. In this study we tested whether fingerprint examiners can detect if finger and palm prints originate from siblings. In total, 410 finger records and 300 palm records of siblings and non-siblings were examined by seven certified forensic fingerprint examiners with different levels of qualifications and experience.

The benefit of AFIS searches of lateral palm and non-distal phalanges prints in criminal investigation.

The ongoing upgrade of AFIS worldwide resulted in new achievements in the domain of fingerprint identification. Two cases are presented which depict the importance of collecting and employing a broader search in AFIS to include lateral palm prints and non-distal phalanges prints.

Time is Money or Money is Time? A Rapid Operational Sequence for Detecting Fingermarks on Polymer Banknotes.

Banknotes are often found in high-profile crimes such as armed robberies, bribery, and terrorist activity. However, such exhibits present a challenge to forensic operatives regarding fingermarks development, due to their mass quantities, potential for fingermarks on both sides, and their unique complex background in terms of color, irregular patterns, and topography. Hence, the standard development protocols become inefficient, due to the difficulty in achieving high contrast images over the background.

Development of fingermarks on Latex gloves: The solution to a challenging surface.

Used Latex gloves found at crime scenes can provide strong evidence against a suspect as they almost certainly contain both the fingermarks and DNA of the perpetrator who had worn them. However, over the years, Latex gloves have proved to be a rather difficult substrate for fingermarks development, with most of the standard techniques producing poor results. In this study, the two main protocols for development on either porous or non-porous surfaces: Ninhydrin-HFE and superglue fuming followed by crystal violet (CV) dyeing, respectively, had been examined on 100 disposable Latex gloves from twenty five donors.

1,2-Indanedione - A winning ticket for developing fingermarks: A validation study.

1,2-Indanedione has been extensively researched since the discovery of its fluorogenic reaction with amino acids in 1997 by Joullié et al. [1]. This current study compares the development of fingermarks on used train tickets by the three leading reagents for amino acids-ninhydrin, DFO and 1,2-indanedione.

Use of AFIS for linking scenes of crime.

Forensic intelligence can provide critical information in criminal investigations - the linkage of crime scenes. The Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) is an example of a technological improvement that has advanced the entire forensic identification field to strive for new goals and achievements. In one example using AFIS, a series of burglaries into private apartments enabled a fingerprint examiner to search latent prints from different burglary scenes against an unsolved latent print database.