![]() Interestingly, even identical twins do not have the same fingerprints. The second critical characteristic is that no two fingerprints are ever exactly alike in every detail. The size of the finger changes, but the fingerprint pattern does not. That is, everyone's fingerprints are the same from birth until death. The first characteristic that is critical to fingerprint identification is that fingerprints don't change over time. A fingerprint is imprint of the pattern of flexible ridges on the pad of a finger. But how exactly does it work?īefore we can talk about fingerprint identification, we need to know a few things about fingerprints. Today, fingerprint identification is used forensically to identify victims of crimes and place suspects at crime scenes. The use of forensic technologyĪlmost everyone has heard of using fingerprints to identify people - it's one of the oldest biometric identification technologies known to mankind. Fingerprint evidence can be critical in placing a suspect at the scene of the crime!įingerprint identification techniques continue to evolve with the increased availability and power of modern computers, and this field of forensic science promises to be exciting for years to come. If the fingerprint evidence is used in a case that goes to trial, the examiner may be required to testify in court about the work. The examiner must thoroughly document every step of the process and write a full report about the identification process and its conclusions. Finally, the examiner must manually compare latent fingerprints with potential matches obtained by the system in order to make a positive identification. The next step is to enter the print into a fingerprint identification system such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). A fingerprint examiner must first carefully mark the distinguishing features of the full or partial print. The fingerprint examiner's job begins when print arrives at the lab from the scene of the crime. Click to see more online forensic programs that are taking applications now.įorensic scientists who analyze fingerprints in the lab are typically called fingerprint examiners. ![]()
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