Part I: Fingerprint Analysis

Print History

 

In ancient Babylon, fingerprinting on clay tablets was used as an indicator for the identity of a person making a business transaction.



In ancient China, thumbprints were imprinted in clay to seal letters and documents.

The first observation of fingerprints varying from person to person occurred in 14^th century Persia when a doctor observed the fingerprint impressions on official government papers.

In 1686 professor of anatomy at the University of Bologna Marcello Malpighi first notices ridges, loops, and spirals in fingerprints.

John Evangelist Purkinje, an anatomy professor at the University of Breslau, discussed nine fingerprint patterns in his published thesis in 1823.

Sir William James Herschel, Chief Magistrate of the Hooghly district in Jungipoor, India, first introduced fingerprinting to the English when he began using fingerprints on native contracts. As the collection of fingerprints grew he observed that fingerprints could truly prove or disprove a person’s identity.

In 1863 Professor Paul-Jean Coulier published information on latent fingerprints about how they could be developed on paper with iodine fuming. His published observations explain how to fix developed impressions and he pose the idea that fingerprints could potentially help identify crime suspects.

Dr. Henry Faulds developed the first means of identification of latent prints in 1880 and published an article discussed fingerprints and their use in personal identification. He is credited with identifying the first greasy fingerprint found on an alcohol bottle.

Gilbert Thompson of the U.S. Geological Survey in New Mexico used the first known use of fingerprints in the United States when he used his thumbprint on a document to prevent forgery in 1882.

In 1888 Sir Galton began observations of fingerprints as a means of identification.

In 1891 an Argentine Police Official by the name of Juan Vucetich began the first files on fingerprinting using Galton’s pattern types. With these files he was able to make the first criminal fingerprint identification in 1892.

The Council of the Governor General of India proposed in their committee report that fingerprints would be used for identifying criminals and kept in records for use in other crime cases in 1897.

In 1901 the adoption of the Henry System of Fingerprint Classification helped to create the Fingerprint Branch at New Scotland Yard (London Metropolitan Police).

In the United States systematic use of fingerprints was employed by the New York Civil Service Commission for testing in 1902.

The first systematic use of fingerprints in the New York State Prison began to identify US criminals in 1903.

In 1905 the US Army begins to use fingerprints, the US Navy follows suit in 1907, and the US Marine Corps mirror their actions in 1908.

In 1915 the International Association for Criminal Identification was formed.

The FBI had processed over 100 million fingerprint cards files maintained manually in 1946.

In 1977 the Latent Print Certification Board was established, which was the world's first certification program for fingerprint experts.

Today all US states have their own Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) which contain fingerprints unstored in any other databases. The largest US AFIS is controlled by the Department of Homeland Security’s US Visit Program and contains over 100 million fingerprints in its database.

http://onin.com/fp/fphistory.html

Print Types

Patent fingerprints are easily identifiable prints that are visible when substances on skin come in contact with the smooth surfaces of other objects. They leave distinct impressions of ridges that are visible without any enhancements from technological equipment. Substances can contain dust particles, for example, which will adhere to ridges in fingers and leave residue when left on an object that allow the patterns to be easily identified.

Plastic fingerprints are easy identifiable prints that result in an indentation when fingers touch malleable surfaces. Because the objected they are impressed on is easily observable, plastic fingerprints do not need enhancement from technological equipment. Fresh paint, wax, cum, and blood are a few example of malleable surfaces that will retain ridge impressions.

Latent fingerprints are prints invisible to the naked eye that result from perspiration emitted from pores found in the ridges of fingerprints that become secreted in the surface of an object. Moisture, oil, and grease created by the body adhere to the ridges of fingerprints so when people touch objects a film of those substances transfer to the objects they come in contact with. The distinct outline left of the fingerprint ridges have to be enhanced with technological equipment to be studied and identified. These prints have proven to be very valuable in identification procedures.     

           

http://www.fingerprinting.com/types-of-fingerprints.php

Techinques/Chemicals Used to Develop Prints on Various Surfaces

Porous Surfaces

•         D.F.O.

•         1,2 Idanedione

•         Ninhydrin

•         Iodine Fuming

•         5-MTN

•         Physical Developer

•         Zinc Chloride

Non-Porous Surfaces

•         Cyanoacrylate Ester

•         Gentian Violet

•         Small Particle Reagent

Glossy Paper

•         Cyanoacrylate Ester

•         Small Particle Reagent

•         M.B.D Dye

•         Basic Yellow 40

Metal

•         Cyanoacrylate Ester

•         M.B.D. Dye

•         Basic Yellow 40

•         Small Particle Reagent

Plastic

•         Cyanoacrylate Ester

•         M.B.D. Dye

•         Basic Yellow 40

•         Small Particle Reagent

Glass

•         Cyanoacrylate Ester

•         M.B.D. Dye

•         Basic Yellow 40

•         Small Particle Reagent

Unfinished Wood

•         Iodine Fuming

•         1,2 Idanedione

•         5-MTN

•         Physical Developer

•         D.F.O.

•         Ninhydrin

•         Silver Nitrate

Wet Surfaces

•         Physical Developer

•         Small Particle Reagent

•         Sudan Black

Adhesive Tape

•         Gentian Violet

•         Liqui-Drox

•         Liqui-Nox

•         Sticky-Side Powder

Post-Ninhydrin

•         Nickel Nitrate

•         Physical Developer

•         Silver Nitrate

•         Small Particle Reagent

•         Zinc Chloride

Multi-Colored Surfaces

(Fluorescent Techniques)

•         R.A.Y.

•         Ardrox

•         M.B.D. Dye

•         Basic Yellow 40

•         M.R.M. 10

•         Liqui-Drox

•         Rhodamine 6G

•         D.F.O.

•         Safranin O

•         Nile Red

•         1,2 Idanedione

•         Thenoyl Europium Chelate

•         R.A.M.

Ultra-Violet Induced

•         Ardrox

•         Liqui-Drox

•         Ultra-Violet Lamp

•         Silver Nitrate

•         Thenoyl Europium Chelate

•         Basic Yellow 40

Post-Cyanoacrylate

•         Ardrox

•         Basic Yellow 40

•         M.B.D. Dye

•         Nile Red

•         Rhodamine 6G

•         Sudan Black

•         Basic Red 28

•         Liqui-Drox

•         M.R.M. 10

•         R.A.M.

•         R.A.Y.

•         Thenoyl Europium Chelate

Cartridge Cases

•         Basic Yellow 40

•         Cyanoacrylate Ester

 Blood

•         A.B.T.S.

•         Amido Black – Water

•         Crowle’s Double Stain

•         Leucocrystal Violet

•         Coomassie Blue

•         Amido Black – Methanol

•         D.A.B.

Non Destructive Techniques

•         Iodine Fuming

•         Electrostatic Lifting

•         Visual Examination

•         Fluorescent Light

•         Ultra-Violet Lamp

http://www.odec.ca/projects/2004/fren4j0/public_html/developing_reagents.htm
http://www.horiba.com/scientific/products/forensics/ruvis-applications/details/scenescope-ruvis-reflected-ultra-violet-imaging-system-158/
http://www.ehow.com/how_8305163_remove-fingerprints-galvanized-metal.html
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=fingerprints+on+wet+surfaces&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&biw=1366&bih=587&tbm=isch&tbnid=BQxBYLwYz0c2MM:&imgrefurl=http://www.diylife.com/2010/07/22/how-to-get-fingerprints-off-of-anything/&docid=UL7_XMj2ALZmoM&imgurl=http://www.blogcdn.com/www.diylife.com/media/2010/07/woman-hand-touching-mirror-fingerprint-home-590kb072210.jpg&w=590&h=393&ei=t_PUTuqbArGy0QGA5fnfAQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=188&sig=103790221378878333989&page=4&tbnh=115&tbnw=153&start=77&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:77&tx=84&ty=70

http://www.ehow.com/info_8719257_crime-scene-fingerprinting-process.html
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=fingerprints+in+blood&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&biw=1366&bih=587&tbm=isch&tbnid=V9Nar1-88MGjAM:&imgrefurl=http://www.123rf.com/photo_7905661_blood-splatter-and-fingerprints-isolated-on-a-white-background.html&docid=44oo8EBEN5q9pM&imgurl=http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/stephaniefrey/stephaniefrey1009/stephaniefrey100900035/7905661-blood-splatter-and-fingerprints-isolated-on-a-white-background.jpg&w=267&h=400&ei=hvXUTofsHYaFtge72PCmAg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=172&sig=103790221378878333989&page=1&tbnh=124&tbnw=83&start=0&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:18,s:0&tx=52&ty=54

Print Patterns

http://www.securityandsafetysupply.com/news/news36.htm

Collecting/Lifting Fingerprints

Fingerprints can be lifted and collected in numerous ways. One of the ways discussed in class was removing a fingerprint off of a glass jar. During this experiment groups of four were given a small container holding finely ground pieces of graphite and a single glass jar. The students were instructed to collect oils on their fingers (wiping oils off of the face to make a more noticeable residue) and press them down lightly onto the bottom on the jar. Then using small paintbrushes they dabbed graphite onto their fingerprints to make them more easily observable. Once the print was easily identifiable, the students placed tape over their prints and carefully removed it from the jar to lift the print. After lifting the print they smoothed to tape onto a piece of white paper to make a nice contrast with the graphite and make the fingerprint easier to analyze. This is not the only way you can collect and lift prints. Another method discussed in class to lift prints was using baking powder to lift prints off of dark surfaces. For more methods read the post about the techniques and chemicals used for developing prints on various surfaces.       



Picture taken by Marissa Morrison.

Part II: Hair/Fiber Analysis

History

The importance of hair and fiber analysis and its significance in crime investigation was realized in the early stages of forensic science. One of the first scientific report involving hair and fiber analysis (trichology) was published in 1857 in France, introducing the world to the idea that analyzing hair and fibers could be useful in identifying criminals. In the early twentieth century this field expanded considerably once the examination of hair microscopically was discovered. A renowned resource for hair and fiber analysis was Professor John Glaister’s “Hairs of Mammalia from the Medico-legal Aspect” which was published in 1977. Also, John Hick’s “Microscopy of Hairs: A Practical Guide and Manual” became an important tool for forensic experts because it laid out the groundwork for using hair as evidence in criminal cases. Hair and fiber analysis is still widely used in forensics today and has helped solve numerous criminal cases since its discovery.

http://www.ehow.com/about_6102496_forensic-science_-hair-fiber-analysis.html

http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1232,q,557826.asp

Hair Components

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-15311332/stock-photo-human-hair-follicle-labeled.html

Major Types of Fibers

Cashmere: made from the undercoat of the Kashmir goat. China, Mongolia, and Tibet produce sixty percent of the world’s cashmere. Cashmere is very soft, lightweight, and warm, but because it is produced in small amounts it is very expensive. It drapes well and is very luxurious.

Wool: made from the fleece of sheep. There are many different sheep living in different climates, meaning there are many different types of wool. Coarser wools are used for carpets, soft wools are used for clothing, and highly crimped wools and wools with long fibers are used for yarn. Wool is warm, resists wrinkle, inflammable and very durable, making it a very popular fiber for clothing.

Silk: made of the unwound filament of a silkworm cocoon. Silk retains shape, has a natural luster, drapes well, and has a reputation of being luxurious and sensuous fabric. Known as the strongest fiber, its weaknesses are perspiration and sunlight. Silk is absorbent and dyes easily, but colors run easily when in contact with water.

 

Cotton: grows around the seeds of cotton plants. It is the world’s most used fiber due to its coolness, softness, and comfortableness. Cotton is used to make clothing, furniture, medical supplies, automobile cloths, and many other things. High temperatures are tolerable for cotton, and its absorbency allows it to be dyed easily.

Linen: made from the stalk of flax plants. It is the strongest of vegetable fibers and is known as one of the earliest fibers used to make string. Linen dyes easily and is undamaged by boiled water. Comfortable, highly absorbent and containing a natural luster, linen is commonly used in clothing, bedding, and many other useful cloth objects.

http://www.numei.com/fiberfacts.htm

http://needlepoint.about.com/od/texturedstitches/ss/CashmereStitch.htm

http://berbercarpetguide.com/

 http://zhaokai.en.made-in-china.com/product/XMPmRNioAqYv/China-Silk-Charmeuse.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/366708407-150CM-cotton-fabric-wholesale-cross-stitch-fabric-SPEC-9CT-11CT-14CT-Colour-red-wihte-black-etc-wholesalers.html

http://www.healthylinen.com/

Hair/Fiber Collection Techniques

When collecting hairs and fibers from a crime scene, detectives are not to touch any of the evidence. They must wear sterile gloves when handling evidence or use equipment such as tweezers, vacuum sweepers, and lifting tape to pick up any hairs or fibers. Samples should be placed in paper bindles or coin envelopes which should be sealed in larger envelopes and labeled accordingly. Collection of all hairs and fibers present is essential. If hairs or fibers are attached to objects/substances (dried blood, caught on metal/cracked glass) removal is unacceptable; the object/substance must also be removed to keep the hair or fiber intact. Hairs and fibers are important in identifying suspects, criminals, and victims and must be handled with care to ensure accuracy in identification tests.

 

http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/collect.html http://www.centralreg.k12.nj.us/webpages/SHopson/files/hair.pdf http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/221978/enlarge

Hair/Fiber Analysis

When analyzing hairs and fibers from crime scenes, scientists use microscopes and fibers from related locations to identify criminals, suspects, and victims. Microscopes are used to identify difference between animal hairs and human hairs and differences between various fibers. Race can be determined through the use of a microscope, but age and sex are still undeterminable at this point. Comparing fibers found at the crime scene to those of people’s carpets, clothes, and car cloths is another way that scientists analyze the origin of the fibers. Through both of these methods, scientists are typically successful in determining criminals, suspects, and victims.

 

In class students were instructed to complete a lab in which they were to identify the differences of various types of hairs and fibers. Our groups were given hairs from different races and various animals, and fibers such as cotton, nylon, silk, and many others. By using the microscopes were able to observe the differences and distinct characteristics of each of the hairs and fibers which proved to be helpful in another lab we were instructed to complete on profiling a “criminal”. We were given hair and fiber samples along with ransom notes, fingerprints, and smeared substances to try to identify a “victim” and “murderer”. Based on what we learned in the hair/fiber analysis lab we were able to identify that the “victim” was most likely an African American. If given the chance, study your own hair under a microscope. What does your hair tell about you?





http://www.centralreg.k12.nj.us/webpages/SHopson/files/hair.pdf
Microscope picture taken by Marissa Morrison.

Reliability of Hair/Fiber Crime Scene Data

Hair:

·         Human head hair has odds of 4500 to 12 of originating from the same person (0.0022%)

·         Pubic hair has even better odds of 800 to 1.3 (0.00012%)

·         Negroid and Mongoloid hairs tend to exhibit less variation and therefore usually lower odds.

Based on these studies performed from the Canadian Mounted Police, hair can be highly distinctive evidence when solving crimes and is very reliable for identifying criminals, suspects, and victims involved in the case.

Fiber:

·         Fiber is often the most common type of evidence found at a crime scene

·         Importance is usually magnified in cases of homicide, assault, or sexual offences

·         Fibers may be found caught in screens, or on jagged surfaces

·         Around broken glass

·         On cars involved in pedestrian hit and runs

·         Transferred during a struggle

Because fibers are so common in crime scenes and can be found in various places they are not as distinctive for identification as hairs but are reliable in informing detectives of what clothing the criminals, suspects, and victims may have been wearing as well as locations they may have been in (cars, houses, etc.).

http://www.centralreg.k12.nj.us/webpages/SHopson/files/hair.pdf

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=hair+at+crime+scenes&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&sa=N&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&biw=1366&bih=587&tbm=isch&tbnid=b3Y0xoFQFSjOyM:&imgrefurl=http://classcapk.wikispaces.com/Forensic%2Bstudies&docid=H2REhLf8EP794M&imgurl=http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/photogallery_image/articles/hair.gif&w=485&h=323&ei=G5HVTq_5GIPvgge7gsC4AQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=250&sig=103790221378878333989&page=1&tbnh=111&tbnw=137&start=0&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0&tx=87&ty=71

http://www.evidentcrimescene.com/cata/evid2/evid2.html

Famous Hair/Fiber Analysis Cases

One famous case where fiber analysis was used to identify a criminal was the Atlanta Child Murders in which Robert Anthony Buell was convicted for murder. Buell raped and murdered two young girls in Ohio and left behind distinct orange fibers on each of the bodies. After further analysis it was determined that these fibers came from the same carpet that could be found in a particular van. An unannounced amount of time later a woman was kidnapped and kept prisoner in a man’s house, but one day when the man left she was able to escape and contact the authorities. After further investigation they found that this man’s van contained the same fibers found on the girls’ bodies and identified Robert Anthony Buell as the abductor and murderer. Thanks to forensics, Buell was found guilty and incarcerated for the horrific crimes he committed.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/williams/33.html

http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/buell801.htm

Part III: Handwriting Analysis

History

Interest in handwriting analysis has been around since 1633. Scientists, philosophers and artists have always sparked interest in the relationship between writers and their handwriting. Efforts in analysis of handwriting began when the French abbe Hypolite Michon began his work in 1872, giving handwriting analysis the name graphology. He and his compatriot Jules Crepieux-Jamin developed a school that attempted to relate the isolated signs of specific handwriting elements to certain human traits. Though the process was drawn out over a long period of time, in 1910 a shorthand teacher by the name of Milton Newman Bunker began analysis that led to a unique discovery. He was curious as to why he had put wide spaces between his letters and long finals on his words when he was a penmanship student which inspired him to indulge in studies of graphology. Later in 1915 he recognized that each of his students formed shorthand strokes in a particular manner, and after making this observation he quickly realized that it was not the letter which had a trait, it was the strokes. Graphology supports the theory that O’s with an open top indicate a person who writes in this manner is someone who speaks very openly and often, and after making more observations Bunker realized the personality traits were correct and the handwriting traits also applied to the letters a, g, d, and q. Thousands of miles traveled, thousands of people interviewed, and more than half a million handwriting specimen analyses later, Milton Newman Bunker established graphoanalysis, the copyrighted American System of handwriting analysis, which is still used today.



http://www.torontohandwritinganalyst.com/history.html

http://www.abebooks.com/9780911012682/Handwriting-Analysis-Science-Determining-Personality-0911012680/plp

12 Handwriting Characteristics

There are twelve defining characteristics of handwriting:

1. Line Quality
2. Spacing of Words
3. Spacing of Letters
4. Pen Lifts
5. Word Separations
6. Connecting Strokes
7. Unusual Letter Formation
8. Slant
9. Baseline Habits
10. Flourishes
11. Embellishments
12. Didactic placement

These characteristics help forensic experts identify forgeries every day. What are your handwriting characteristics?

http://www.clt.uwa.edu.au/__data/page/112506/fsp10_handwriting.pdf
http://handwritinguniversity.com/barackobama/

Handwriting Analysis

Forgeries can be created in two ways: freehand and tracing. Freehanded forgeries are created when a person studies the characteristics of another’s handwriting and tries to replicate the style themselves. Tracing forgeries consist of using a  piece of parchment to cover an original document scribed by the person whose handwriting is being attempted to replicate and tracing the words from the original document to the parchment used to write the forgery. Forgery style choice can depend on the artistic level of the forger. Tracing provides more accurate results when attempting to replicate the exact characteristics of the words, but free hand provides more vocabulary choices when creating forged documents. Even if the forgeries are very similar, they will not be exactly like the original handwriting style. Everyone has a unique writing style; no two people have the same characteristics!

 

Isaac Bear’s Biology class completed a handwriting analysis activity in which students were instructed to forge their classmates’ signatures. My personal forgery style preference was freehand due to the unclear view of the words and style of my classmate’s handwriting when being traced. I found it easier to write it myself when having a clear observation of the work I was to replicate. When tracing I was conscientious of the twelve handwriting characteristics and noticed that Cosette Taggart (http://ctaggartforensics.blogspot.com/), my classmate, had very large loops on her y’s and f’s when writing in cursive and a slight right slant. The activity was a fun way of learning about different writing styles and I have learned to observe the style of my classmates’ handwriting and my own.

http://4closurefraud.org/2010/10/08/tammie-lou-kapusta-tampa-tribune-fired-worker-says-home-foreclosure-firm-forged-documents/

Check Forgery Activity

One of the activities we completed in class involved check forgery. Mr. Kelly, the Biology teacher, printed fake checks for each of the students to fill out. Once filled out the students were instructed to rip the checks into pieces and place them in an envelope. The students shuffled them amongst their groups and put the pieces back together, trying to identify whose handwriting it was. After everyone identified the owner of their check they discussed how the handwriting characteristics helped them identify their classmates.



My group consisted of three other students: Cosette Taggart, Marissa Morrison (http://mmorrisonforensics.blogspot.com/), and Bradley Caison (http://bcaisonforensics.blogspot.com/). Together we were able to identify each other’s handwriting styles based on the twelve handwriting characteristics discussed in class. Embellishments, didactic placement, and slant were some of the most helpful characteristics for our group. We all enjoyed this activity and if it were to be assigned again we would like to engage in a class discussion about the different characteristics of each student.

Check forgery picture taken by Marissa Morrison. Rotation of picture was unavailable.

Famous Forgery Case

One famous case of forgery occurred in 1985 involving Mark Hofmann, a double murderer from Utah, USA, who forensic experts consider to be one of the best forgers they’ve caught yet. Hofmann had forged many Mormon documents and began selling church collections for self-benefit, but once his plans began to stop working he created bombs and murdered two people in an attempt to lead his plans back in the right direction. Forensic history was made when authorities caught Hofmann for his forgeries during the murder investigations when detectives found Hofmann’s method for forging documents was chemically aging ink and applying it to old paper. Bound by trial for over thirty felonies, Mark Hofmann decided to plead guilty to the two murders caused by his bombs and by doing so all other charges were dropped, and he was put in jail in 1987. He was sentenced to five-years-to-life in the Utah State Penitentiary with possible Parole after seven years, but when making threats against the Board of Pardons he lost his chances of gaining Parole. Mark Hofmann unsuccessfully attempted suicide twice while incarcerated and is still in prison serving his life sentence today. Forensics always serves justice!

http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/h/HOFMAN,MARK.html

http://artoftheprank.com/category/fact-or-fiction/fraud-deception/page/3/