Fingerprinting Identification Mark - Case Study Example

Introduction Fingerprints are a distinctive identification mark present of the finger tips formed by ridges and curvature of lines present at birth and stays till death unless if an accident occurs. It is thought in theory that it is unique since no two people (till now) possess the same identification fingerprint. But is fingerprint identification a real science this is the controversy that is going to be addressed in this paper. Not before long, fingerprints were taken by the traditional method of ink and paper impression, but nowadays with the advanced technology its enough to do a computer scan to record such a print which will be saved in the system to be retrieved and easily cross referenced for future use. The use of fingerprints is primarily important in identification of criminals in forensic sciences who has to have their fingerprints saved in the criminals database, but the drawback is the crime's scene prints distortion and difficulty in retrieval. Fingerprints are also an important asset to highly secure companies and banking systems. Such identifications with many others such as eye scan and voice recognition are used to verify a person's identity and cross-reference him. Finger Identification can be used on a more sophisticated level of security as mentioned by Tom Gillespie 2005; a fingerprint reader used as a switch, a standalone lock that uses a fingerprint instead of a keypad and a security case opened by a fingerprint reader. It is also was a suggested to use those identification marks present on the finger prints to help track kids when they are lost, though some parents do not agree on the principle of using the same technology used for criminals identification. This must not be an issue when the safety of the children is the main concern of all parents. (Lisa P. White) History Many scientists came across finger prints discussing their presence and describing them in different manners, and some describing the patterns of them, but it was not till 1880 that Faulds had described their importance as personal identification marks through his studies and research. On 1882 Thompson was the first U.S citizen that has printed his thumb print to ensure ethnicity of a paper. And on 1883 Mark Twain identified the first criminal using fingerprint identification. Types & methods of obtaining finger prints According to Eric Brown, 1990, there are three types of finger prints; visible (also called patent prints), impression (also called plastic prints), and latent prints. All can be obtained but in different methods. Visible can be photographed directly, impression need special lightning to make it visible, latent need special methods to become visible by physical , chemical, and instrumental techniques. Latent finger prints are composed mainly of sweat and other organic compounds like amino acids, glucose, lactic acid, peptides, ammonia, riboflavin, and isoagglutinogens as well as inorganic chemicals like potassium, sodium, carbon trioxide, and chlorine. It is those chemicals that react by one of those techniques to help make the latent finger prints visible. (Eric Brown, 1990) A person with no prints Researchers recently unraveled two diseases that can actually cause a person to be finger print-less. The two diseases are Naegeli syndrome and dermatopathia pigmentosa reticularis (DPR) both caused by a defect in the keratin protein number 14. "The defect induces the body to mark cells in the upper layers of the skin for death. As a result, people with these afflictions lack fingerprints.." Those results were published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. (Scientists Unravel Mystery of People with No Fingerprints) Where does finger printing stand in the forensic sciences Finger printing left its impressions in forensic sciences over the years to be a helpful aid to humanity in many aspects. Many crime scene investigators start with this basic information collection as a start to help them have an initial starting point to their investigations. Finger printing was the first to assert an IAI's Certified Latent Print Examiner program in 1977 helping interested individuals to become professionals in this field. It remains the number one method used in forensic science to identify people outnumbering other methods in usage. (Wikepedia) Does finger printing count as a real Science Considering it being a professional job, where people can acquire a certificate that entitles them to such jobs, it can be regarded as a science. Practitioners of this field are usually specialized professionals in this aspect and by so "fingerprint scientists are no different from the rest of the scientific community". (Wikepedia) "Skilled examiners of fingerprint evidence agree that the process of comparing latent fingerprints of unknown origin with inked impressions of known origin is an "art," rather than a science." (Andrea) All the past cases that held errors made some judges regard fingerprints as not a reliable trustworthy method. In 2002 Judge Louis Pollack expressed that "fingerprint identification was not a legitimate form of scientific evidence" and fingerprints not to be scientific therefore not to be taken into consideration on court. This came as opposition to general thought of fingerprints being the "gold standard" in the American courts that had stood its place in courts for more than 100 years. After a couple of weeks the same judge merely disagreed with himself and declared that the "opinions of fingerprints identification experts should nonetheless be admissible evidence." (Mnookin, Jennifer) The International Association for Identification, the oldest and largest professional forensic association in the world, states in a 1979 resolution that any expert giving "testimony of possible, probable or likely [fingerprint] identification shall be deemed to be engaged in conduct unbecoming". It is a well known fact how beneficial the fingerprinting process has been for the past years in many aspects, but still remains the validity of such an identification process as a science which till now has not been achieved. This is of particular significance when taking such evidence into consideration into the supreme courts in the US which has established criteria for acceptance of scientific material submitted- that is if fingerprints are considered by the judge as so. The Daubert ruling introduced by the Supreme Court in 1993 set out five criteria to admit an expert testimony. One of those criteria is that the forensic technique in question must have an established error rate, something that has never been admitted as a clear cut for fingerprinting identification technique. The premises upon which fingerprint identification are based need to be thoroughly tested. According to Andre; these premises are three-folds: first is that the friction ridge detail of the epidermis on the palm side of the hands remain unaltered within the life of a person unless an accident or "intentional scarification or alteration" occurs; second is that the friction ridge pattern areas encompasses many elemental features that no two outlined models are ever found to be exactly the same on the digits of both palms and soles of an entity; third is while these friction ridge patterns display countless diversity of aspects yet the can be classified into general goups allowing the police to roughly categorize the fingerprints for future retrieval of hundreds and thousands of prints accordingly. Errors in fingerprint identification or processing Stephan Cowans are one of the common examples of a clear error of fingerprint identity. He was sentenced to jail 1997 to serve 35 years for a crime he later proved not to have done by DNA testing after seven years of unjust imprisonment. The print that convicted him was reanalyzed and turned out not to be his. This can mean one of three; either this was a fraud case, incompetence or a mere case of human or machine error; all showing how there is inconvenience in the system widely used for identification. (Jennifer L. Mnookin) Another case is the Brandon Mayfield being accused with the Madrid bombing. the FBI were a hundred percent sure that his fingerprints are a definite mach of the bombers by the IAFIS - Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which was later dismissed by the Spanish police and the real bomber was arrested. Mr. Mayfield was released after 2 weeks. (Dan Eggen). These errors and many alike arises the credibility question of the fingerprint identification method.. Conclusion As a conclusion, no two fingerprints are identical until proven otherwise. The controversy of fingerprint identification of being a reliable method of established science can be said to be as such, for many cases have been unraddles from such an identification, but remains that a qualified personnel to conduct this testing to prevent a Stephan error to occur and an innocent man to be placed behind bars. Also such a test must not be the sole evidence against a man, and other tests should support such evidences to decrease the margin of error. The new era or DNA testing from fingerprints are awaited and can decrease alot of wasted time and be a more sophisticated method of incriminating. REFERENCES Andre A. Moenssens, Is fingerprint Identification a "Science' http://www.forensic-evidence.com/site/ID/ID00004_2.html Andre A. Moenssens, The Reliability of Fingerprint Identification - A Case Report, University of Missouri at Kansas City, 17 January 2002 http://onin.com/fp/reliability_of_fp_ident.html Andy Coghlan, James Randerson, How far should fingerprints be trusted NewScientist.com news service, 2005 http://www.newscientist.com/article.nsid=mg18725174.500 Alexander Cockburn; The Myth of Fingerprints, The Nation, Vol. 265, October 20, 1997 http://www.questia.com/PM.qsta=o&d=5002246625 Dan Eggen, U.S. Settles Suit Filed by Ore. Lawyer, Washington Post Staff Writer, November 30, 2006; Page A03 Eric W. Brown, The Cyanoacrylate Fuming Method, 1990, NU-ENG http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/feneric/cyanoacrylate.html Fingerprint. (2007, February 13). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:30, February 25, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.phptitle=Fingerprint&oldid=107847878 Gillespie, Tom, Putting your finger on the pulse of access control: here are three examples of fingerprints used as a means of identification with different types of security Locksmith Ledger International Magazine, July, 2005 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4865/is_200507/ai_n17903644 Jasuja, O.P. ; Singh, Gagan Deep ; Sodhi, G.S. Development of latent fingerprints on compact disc and its effect on subsequent data recovery. Forensic Science International, Publication Date: 01/27/2006 http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-12705446_ITM Jennifer L. Mnookin, A blow to the credibility of fingerprint evidence, The Boston Globe 2/2/2004 http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/02/02/a_blow_to_the_credibility_of_fingerprint_evidence/ Julia Pierce, Fingering the criminals: Japanese develop method for detecting fingerprints on human skin. (News). Engineer, The, January, 2003 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go1537/is_200301/ai_n7453242 Kanable, Rebecca, DNA from fingerprints Analysis, not common in the United States today, could be helpful in future investigations.(Deoxyribonucleic Acid ), Law Enforcement Technology, July, 2005 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4857/is_200507/ai_n17900140 Kuppuswamy, R. Studies on the formation, temporal evolution and forensic applications of camera "fingerprints". Forensic Science International, Publication Date: 06/01/2006 http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-15671336_ITM Lisa P. White,'Inkless' fingerprints may help track kids, Belleville News-Democrat, March, 2006 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_km4462/is_200603/ai_n16279877 Mitchell Hecht, Ask Dr. H | Fingerprints: More than ID's, Philadelphia Inquirer, The, June, 2006 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmtpi/is_200606/ai_n16445640 Mnookin, Jennifer L, Fingerprints: Not a gold standard, Issues in Science and Technology, Fall 2003 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3622/is_200310/ai_n9343858 Salil Prabhakar, Anil Jain, Fingerprint Identification, Michigan State University http://biometrics.cse.msu.edu/fingerprint.html Scientists Unravel Mystery of People with No Fingerprints, Space Daily, Publication Date: 14-SEP-06 , TECHNION, Israel www.physorg.com/news77371366.html Stainless doors resist fingerprints.(MANUFACTURING & FABRICATING: Tools, equipment & services for cabinet shops & fabricators), Kitchen & Bath Design News, March, 2006 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4852/is_200603/ai_n17884706 To Catch a Thief: The Psychology of Fingerprints http://www.psychologymatters.org/galton.html The History of Fingerprints http://www.fingerprints.tk/ X rays detect fingerprints, Science News, April 2, 2005, retrieved 26.2.2007 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_14_167/ai_n13654103 http://www.forensic-evidence.com/site/ID/Err_fingerprint.html Read More