Forensic Techniques Used By Investigators - 1622 Words

Introduction Fingerprint testing was one of the original forensic techniques used by investigators. The use of fingerprinting, however, has become less important due to technological innovations such as DNA analysis. Nonetheless Shin Muramoto and Edward Sisco chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are changing that, once again looking to innovation to make fingerprint analysis a state of the art technique. They are doing this by examining how Palmitic acid moves in fingerprints, allowing them to date fingerprints to certain time periods. History of Fingerprinting Fingerprints were one of the original forms of forensic science, being used as early as 221 B.C. by the Qin Dynasty; by 105 A.D. the Chinese began†¦show more content†¦Fingerprinting in the United State began in 1902 with the creation of the American Classification System by Captain James H. Parke, this was the first use of organized fingerprint indexes. From this point on Fingerprinting became a standard technique in documenting criminals and solving crimes. General Fingerprint Knowledge People touch thousands of surfaces every day; door handles, desks, light switches, etc. When they touch these surface they leave their own unique marks on them, their fingerprint. When a person leaves a fingerprint they also leaving thousands of different chemicals, chemicals that all react differently over time. A fingerprint is composed of peaks, raised ridges which appear black in Figure 1, and valleys, recessed furrows which appear to be white in Figure 1, which make a distinct individual pattern. These patterns are categorized in three distinct patterns for examination purposes; the loop, the whorl, and the arch. Examples of these patterns are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Fingerprint Patterns A Simplified Guide T O Fingerprint Analysis. National Forensic Science Technology Center. Web. 1 Oct. 2015. . The research involved in this paper used latent fingerprints. Latent fingerprints are composed of sweat and