Personal Identification PDF

Criminalistics- it is the application of forensic science to criminal matters. CRIMINALISTICS OLD NAME > Forensic Science- this includes relating to or dealing with the application of scientific knowledge to legal problems. LEGAL, EVIDENCE, CRIME, COURT, CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS, JUSTICE, ADMINISTRATION...

Criminalistics- it is the application of forensic science to criminal matters. CRIMINALISTICS OLD NAME > Forensic Science- this includes relating to or dealing with the application of scientific knowledge to legal problems. LEGAL, EVIDENCE, CRIME, COURT, CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS, JUSTICE, ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ORIGIN OF FORENSIC: FORUM It is the scientific investigation into matters pertaining to law in the course of a crime. The practice of matching people to people, or people to places, during the investigation of a crime. Fingerprint as an impression is the reproduction on some smooth surface of the pattern or design formed by the ridges furrows/valleys on the inside of the end joint of the fingers and thumb, through the medium of ink or any coloring substance capable of producing visibility. Dactyloscopy is the identification of a person through the examination and comparison of fingerprints. It is also the classification of fingerprints. It came from two Greek words “dactyl” means and “copy” study. Dactylography is the process of analyzing fingerprints. A Greek term that translate as “finger writing”. Dermatoglyphics- it is the study of lines, tracing or the designs of the ridges of the papillary skin. A Latin term that translates as skin “skin carving”. Identification- in forensic science is simply answering the question “what is it?” Individualization is the uniqueness of an object to the execution of all other objects like itself. E.g. “What kind of salt is it?” Exemplars- these are objects that are commonly encountered in investigations or the possible real object that created the evidence. e.g. If a tire tread is found at a scene, it becomes evidence. If a suspected car is uncovered in the investigation, the tires on the car can serve as exemplars, and each produced will be tested and measured to see if it could have produced the tire tread from the scene. Fingerprint Division The primary function of the fingerprint identification division is the collection and scientific examination of fingerprint evidence of criminal in nature and the compilation of laboratory report, preparation of expert testimonies in court trials. The secondary function is the maintenance of fingerprint file, criminal and non-criminal, classification, searching and filing of fingerprint cards submitted from the different police stations throughout the country. AFIS -Automated Fingerprint Identification System History and Development of Finger printing Egypt The earliest evidence of ridge detail on the hands and feet of humans was seen in the 4,000 years old mummies of ancient Egypt. The hands and feet of mummies have been examined on numerous occasions and they confirmed the presence of ridge detail on the mummies’ digits. Japan Legal papers were marked in ink using the top of the thumb and nail. A Japanese Historian, Kamagusu Minakata further commented about blood stamping. Apparently, contracts were accompanied by a written oath confirmed with a blood stamp. The blood stamp was a print of the ring finger in blood drawn from that digit. France The most famous ancient stone carvings were found in the L’lle de Gavrinis off the coast of France. Here a burial chamber, or dolman, was discovered dating back to Neolithis times. Its inner walls are covered with incised designs- systems of horse-shoe form, more or less circular concentric figures, spiral, arching lines sinuous and straight lines and other markings occurring in various combinations. Nova Scotia An outline of a hand was scratched into slate rock beside Kejumkuji lake by an aboriginal Indian. Within the outline the flexion creases of the palm and fingers are depicted. This carving has considerable historical significance. Babylonia References by ancient historians have been found describing how finger seals were used on legal contracts from 1855-1913 B.C. The finger impressions of the parties involved in a contract or agreement were apparently pressed into the clay surface along with the script. This practice identified the author and protected against forgery. Palestine William Frederick Bade, found finger imprints on many pieces of broken pottery. These “identifications” permitted the confused debris to dated accurately to the fourth century A.D. Holland and Ancient China Identification of individuals were by means of branding, tattooing, mutilation and also manifested by wearing of clothes of different designs. The thief was deprived of the hand which committed the thievery. The Romans employed the tattoo needle to identify and prevent desertion of mercenary soldiers. Constantinople In treaty ratification, the Sultan soaked his hand in a sheep’s blood and impressed it on the document as his seal. (The sheep’s blood is the substitute for printers’ ink). Sir William J. Herschel He is credited as being the first European to recognize the value of friction ridge points and to actually use them for identification purposes. He entered into a contract on behalf of the Civil Service with a local native, Radyadhar Konai, to supply road building material. On the back of the road contract, Herschel asked Konai to apply his right palm print in ink. Later, he claimed to have been the first to use friction ridge prints for personal identification purposes. His claim was based on the use of the palm print on the Konai contract. Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914) He devised the first truly scientific method of criminal identification in Paris France called anthropometry or Bertillonage. He conceived the idea of using anatomical measurements to distinguish one criminal from another. The Bertillon system was generally accepted for thirty years but it never recovered from the events of 1903, when a man named Will West was sentenced to the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. There was already a prisoner at the penitentiary at the time, whose Bertillon measurements were nearly exact, and his name was William West. WEST CASE The West were apparently identical twin brothers per indications in later discovered prison records citing correspondence from the same immediate family relatives. Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911) Galton was of the opinion that fingerprinting might be a better method of identification. He added fingerprinting to his presentation of Bertillonage and entitled the lecture “Personal Identification and Description” In 1901, as the result of another committee, anthropometry was abandoned and fingerprinting was published as the primary means of identification. Juan (Ivan) Vucetich (1855-1925) Juan Vucetich was employed as a statistician with the Central Police Department at La Plata, Argentina. In July 1891, the Chief of Police assigned Vucetich to set up a bureau of Anthropometric Identification. He started experimenting with fingerprints and set up his own equipment for taking criminal’s prints. Rojas Murders June 19, 1892, two children were murdered on the outskirts of the town of Necochea on the coast of Argentina. The victims were illegitimate children of a 26-year-old woman named Francisca Rojas. Rojas blamed Velasquez, an older man who worked at nearby ranch. However, Velasquez claimed his innocence. Police Inspectore Alvarez examined the scene and he noticed a brown stain on the bedroom door. Careful examination revealed that it was a fingerprint. He cut out the piece of the door with fingerprint on it. He returned to Necochea and requested that Rojas be fingerprinted. Sir Edward Henry (1850 - 1931) At the same time that Vucetich was experimenting with fingerprinting in Argentina, another classification system was being developed in India. This system was called “The Henry Classification System.” In 1891, he was appointed Inspector General of Police for Bengal Province. Fingerprinting in North America (1877 -1900) Gilbert Thompson (1882) He used his thumbprint to ensure that the amounts were not changed or altered on payroll cheques. When issuing a payroll cheque, he would put an inked thumbprint over the amount. This is to prevent fraudulent cheque alternations. Mark Twain (1894) An American author and lecturer. In the novel Pudd'nHead Wilson, a bloody fingerprint is found on the murder weapon and Pudd’n Head, the defense attorney, has the whole town fingerprinted. He also commented on how identical twins can be indistinguishable in appearance, at times even by their parents, but their fingerprints will always be different. Marcello Malpighi (1628 - 1694) He has been credited with being the first to use a microscope in medical studies. He was known as the “Grandfather of Dactyloscopy”. He originated the terms “loops and spirals.” Edmond Locard (1877-1966) In 1912, Locard established poroscopy. Due to his other writings, his ideas about the unintentional transfer of different minute materials between objects, became known as Locard’s Exchange Principle which states that when any two objects come into contact, there is always transference of material from each object onto the other Robert J. Pitts (Known as Roscoe Pitts) A career criminal noted for altering his fingerprints in 1941. He had a doctor remove the skin from his first joints and replace it with skin from his chest. Principles Involved in the study of Fingerprints 1.Principle of individuality – There are no two fingerprints that are exactly alike 2.Principle of permanency- The configuration and details of individual ridges remain constant and unchanging. 3.Principle of infallibility- That fingerprint is a reliable means of personal identification and all courts accept and adopt fingerprint as a means of personal identification. fingerprint evidence is reliable reasons why fingerprint is one of the infallible means of personal identification. a.Fingerprints are already formed about 3 to 4 months of intra-uterine life and remain unchanged throughout life until the final decomposition of the body after death. b.The pattern formation formed by the papillary ridges contains peculiar characteristics upon which a person can always be identified by fingerprint examiners. c. Almost every police and law enforcement agency throughout the world accept, adopt, and utilize fingerprint system as a means of absolute identification of a person. d. The courts and other authorities had since time immemorial taken cognizance of its importance as a means of identification. Friction Skin Histology A.Epidermal layer a. Stratum corneum consist of 25 to 30 layers of stratified (layered) squamous (flattened) dead keratinocytes (skin cells) that are constantly shred. b. Stratum lucidum is present in thick skin (lips, soles of feet, and palms of hands). Little or no cell detail is visible. c. Stratum granulosum consists of 3-4 layers of cell thick consisting of flattened keratinocytes. At this level, the cells are dying. d. Stratum spinosum are several layers thick, consisting mostly of keratinocytes. Together with the stratum basale, it is sometimes referred to as the Malpighian Layer (living layer). e. Stratum basale is a single layer of cell in contact with the basement membrane. These cells are mitotically active-they are alive and reproducing – the reason why it is often referred to as generating layer. e.1 Keratinocytes (90%) is responsible for waterproofing and toughening the skin. e.2 Melanocytes (8%) synthesize the pigment melanin which absorbs and disperses ultraviolet radiation. e.3 Tactile cells are very sparse and function in touch reception. e.4 Nonpigmented granular dendrocytes are cells that inges bacteria and foreign debris. A.Dermis- It is transversed by numerous blood vessels, lymphatic, various glands and tactile nerve. It serves the function of feeding nutrients to the outer layer of friction skin as well as giving physical protection to the internal body. a.1 Dermal papillae - covers the surface of the dermis with blunt peg-like formations. Meissner Corpuscles are contained in the dermal papillae. Importance of knowing the two layers of the skin Damage to the epidermis alone does not result to permanent ridge destruction, while damage to the dermis will result to permanent ridge destruction. Can fingerprints be effaced or erased? John Dellinger, a notorious gangster and a police character attempted to erase his fingerprints by burning them with acid, but as time went by, the ridge were again restored to their natural feature. The acid he applied temporarily destroyed the epidermis of the bulb of the finger. Steps in fingerprint examination (ACE-V Method). This was introduced by Asbaugh 1. Analysis = The unknown area of friction ridge structure (latent impression) must be examined. The specific area of the finger, palm or sole of the foot suspected of making the impression is determined. 2. Comparison = The friction ridge structure is then compared to the exemplars. 3. Evaluation = The result of the comparison is the evaluation process or making a conclusion. The general fingerprint community refers to the conclusions drawn as being one of the choices. 4. Verification = The opinion of the forensic examiner must be verified by another examiner. Allied Sciences of Fingerprint 1.Poroscopy- the science which deals with the study of the pores found on the papillary or friction ridges of the skin for the purpose of identification 2.Chiroscopy- the science of palm print identification 3.Podoscopy- the science of footprint/footwear identification Friction Ridges or Papillary Ridges 1. Friction ridge breadth – The width of the friction ridges varies in different areas as well in different people. In general, they are narrower in females and wider in males. 2. Ridge units and pores – Pore ducts open along the top of the friction ridges. Each ridge unit has one sweat gland and a pore opening randomly somewhere on its surface. Eccrine gland contains approximately 99% water and 1% solid. 3. Specific ridge path – The friction ridges have been compared to corduroy, but unlike corduroy they are not continuous in nature. Photo from Sewport 4. Incipient friction ridges – Narrow and often fragmented ridges may appear between normal friction ridges. These are called incipient, rudimentary, or nascent ridges. They differ from the typical ridge by being thinner and fragmented. 5. Friction ridge imbrications – In some areas of the volar surfaces, the friction ridges all tend to lean on the same direction. 6. Overall friction ridge pattern – The friction ridges form patterns on the volar surface. The most common are concentric, looping, or arching formations. Friction ridges patterns also enhance the ability of volar skin to resist slippage. Ridge Characteristics Identification of fingerprints relies on pattern matching followed by the detection of certain ridge characteristics, also known as Galton details, points of identity, or minutial points with a reference print, usually an inked impression of a suspects print. The dark areas of fingerprints are called ridges while the light areas are called valleys. Basic and composite ridge characteristics (minutiae) A bifurcation is where the ridge path divides forming a Y shape with legs having the same length. A ridge dot, one ridge unit, is the shortest of all island and the building block of the friction ridge. A lake (enclosure) is a bifurcation which does not remain open but which the legs of the bifurcation after running along side for a short distance come together to form a single ridge once more. A spur is where the ridge path divides and one branch comes to an end (leg is shorter). An incipient ridge is an unusual type of ridge found in small percentage of patterns. They are short, narrow and badly formed ridges found between two well- formed and full-bodied ridges which is frequently interrupted. A ridge bridge (cross) is a connecting ridge between two ridges. A double bifurcation is a bifurcation where one of the ridge path bifurcates. A trifurcation is a when two bifurcations develop next to each other on the same ridge, a unique formation. An overlap is where two ridges ends meet and overlap on a bias. Type Lines and Pattern Area Type lines or skeleton of pattern are two innermost ridges which start parallel, diverge, and surround or tend to surround the pattern area. They serve as basic boundaries of a fingerprint pattern. The pattern area is the part of a fingerprint pattern in which the core, delta and ridges appear enclosed by the type lines. Core and Delta Location The core and delta are the focal points of fingerprint patterns except in arch patterns. The core is a point on the ridge formation usually located at the center or heart of the pattern. The core is also known as inner terminus. A delta or outer terminus is a point on the ridge formation at or directly in front or near the center of the divergence of the type lines. Rules in core location 1. The core is placed upon or within the innermost sufficient recurve 2. When the innermost sufficient contains an uneven number of rods rising as high as the shoulders, the core is placed upon the end of the center rod whether it touches the looping ridge or not. 3. When the innermost sufficient recurve contains an even number of rods rising as high as the shoulder, the core is placed upon the two center rods being treated as though they were connected by a recurving ridge. Rules in Delta Location 1. The delta may not be located at a bifurcation which does not open towards the core. 2. When there is a choice between a bifurcation and another type of delta equally close to the point of divergence, the bifurcation is selected. 3. When there is a series of bifurcations opening towards the core at the point of divergence of the two type lines, the bifurcation nearest to the core is chosen as the delta. 4. The delta is located at the end farther from the core when the ridge does not run at the center of the type lines 5. If the ridge enters the pattern area below the divergence of the type lines, the delta must be located at the end nearer to the core. Forms of deltas 1. dot 2. bifurcation 3. short ridge 4. meeting of two ridges 5. point of the first circuiting ridge  6. opening of the bifurcation Ridge counting and Ridge tracing Ridge Counting = It refers to the process of counting the ridges that touch or cross an imaginary line drawn between the core and the delta. 12 counts Pattern Interpretation (Eight Standard Fingerprint Patterns) A. LOOPS 1. RADIAL LOOP = A loop is radial when the opening end of the loop ridge points in the direction of the thumb side of either the left or right hand. 2. ULNAR LOOP = A loop is ulnar when the opening end of the loop ridge points in the direction of the little finger side of either the left or right hand. B. WHORLS 1. PLAIN WHORL = A fingerprint pattern in which there are two deltas and in which at least one ridge makes a turn through one complete circuit. Imaginary line drawn between the two deltas must touch or cross at least one of the circuiting whorl ridges within the pattern area. 2. CENTRAL POCKET LOOP WHORL = A fingerprint pattern which form the most part of a loop, but which has a small whorl inside the loop ridges, sometimes called a “composite pattern” which means that it is made up of two patterns in one, a whorl inside a loop. It has two deltas, one which appears at the edge of the pattern area as in loop and one which shows inside the pattern area just below the counterpart ridges.