Magnetic Fingerprinting and Automated Fingerprint Identification - Essay Example

Magnetic Fingerprinting and Automated Fingerprint Identification Introduction As technology become part and parcel ofour lives, it can be seen that solving criminal puzzles has become almost futuristic in its advances. The forensic technology is the fastest growing field in developed nations, such as, the United States, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The reliability of forensic technology depends on the successful conviction rate, rate of case closure, and correct identification rate. Fingerprinting is a criminal justice investigation method that relies on the individual traits of fingertips, feet, and hands in order to connect people to a specified location or object. Prints can develop leads, and even give clues in relation to the occupation, size, and gender of the criminal (Thompson 1520). By 1920 most countries has started using fingerprints. Nowadays, methods of detecting and taking latent prints are widely used across the world. Even though fingerprint powders are used in dusting for fingerprints at the crime scene, in the recent past the method has been improved with most criminal investigators using computers and magnetic fingerprint powders for fingerprinting. In this regard, the paper will discuss magnetic fingerprinting as well as automated fingerprint identification using integrated systems. In doing so, the document will also evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of these methods as forensic investigation methods. Discussion According to Brandi and Wilson-Wilde (522), forensic standards play a very crucial role in the reducing variations in procedures as well as practices between and within forensic facilities. This may have an impact on the obtained examination results or the manner in which the result is interpreted and reported. Agreed standards make sure that there are robust, reliable, and consistent results and are crucial elements in the quality system across the world. Saferstein (36) argues that with the recent advancements on forensic science technology, law enforcers, and forensic scientists, as well as crime scene investigators can quickly make a comparison of fingerprints at the crime due to the extensive database. Besides that, the inclusion of magnetic fingerprinting dust along with not-touch wanding makes it possible for the investigators to attain a perfect identification of the fingerprints at a crime scene without any contamination. Prints on the wall can be used to indicate the height of the suspect. This assists in finding and explaining complex facts to the jury (Holmgren and Fordham, 65). Several months after the birth of a baby, ridges develop on its finger’s and thumb’s skin. These ridges arrange themselves in a regular pattern. For classification purposes experts have divided these ridges into three basic classes including arches, whorls, and loops. Each class can be further sub-divided into various sub-categories (Kaushal, 1235). The most popular developing method is dusting (Thomas, 35). Dalrymple, Duff and Menzel (106) note that the principle behind dusting is that most people carry a coating of oil and perspiration. When the fingers come in contact with any smooth surface, the friction discharges the oil that is between the ridges. Therefore, when powder is applied to the surface, it gets stuck to the oil and show the pattern. Dusting is ideal is ideal on glass, wood, metal, tiles, and plastics. The dusting powder varies in photographic, stickiness, and magnetic qualities. The next step entails lifting of the print using an adhesive material in order to remove the powdered print from the surface. In a view shared by Ma et al. (187-192), magnetic resonance is a powerful and versatile measurement technique. For nearly 50 years the basic structure of the magnetic resonance experiments has remained the same. It has been mainly restricted to the qualitative probing of a limited set of properties which in principle can be accessed by this technique. On the contrary, the recent advancements in technology have introduced an approach to acquisition of data, visualization, and post-processing which is referred to as magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF). Pruessmann et al. (952-953) argue that MRF allows for the instantaneous non-invasive quantification of various crucial properties of a material or tissue. In this regard, MRF has the benefit of providing an alternative way of quantitatively detecting as well as analyzing complex changes which may correspond to physical alterations to a substance or early disease indicators (Bilgic, Goyal, and Adalsteinsson, 1603). Magnetic resonance fingerprinting can also be utilized to determine the presence of a certain target material or tissue that will enhance the specificity, sensitivity, and probably result to a new diagnostic testing methodology (Warntjes, Leinhard, West, and Lundberg, 320). Bartzokis et al. (48) also add that when MRF is paired with a suitable patter-recognition algorithm it inherently suppresses error measurement and can, therefore, enhance the measurement accuracy. It also produces high quality images. Nickell and Fischer (21) describe the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) as a national automated criminal history and fingerprint identification system. IAFAS is mostly used in the U.S, Australia, France, Germany, Canada, and other developed nations (Holmgren and Fordham, 64). For example, in America, the IAFIS in maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). The automated fingerprint identification system offers the ability to search fingerprints automatically, store images electronically, latent searching, and electronic exchange of fingerprints as well as responses. Background checks on employment along with authorized firearms purchases makes the citizens to be recorded permanently in the system, like, the state of Washington requires that all the applicant who are seeking for employment in an inpatient setting which houses vulnerable minors be fingerprinted and data fed into the IAFIS system as part of their background check so as to establish whether the applicant has any criminal behavior records. The integrated automated fingerprint system allows the fingerprint technicians the ability to scan fingerprint images into a database for comparison, storage, and retrieval. In 2008, the automated fingerprint system was upgraded in order to remove the process of scanning, reduce processing tome and permitting for an instantaneous link to the FBI network. The IAFIS services comprise of: ten-print based fingerprint identification services; fingerprint services by supporting both hard and soft copy latent fingerprints submissions; subject search and criminal history services; documentation, fingerprint, and imaging services; finally, remote ten-print and latent fingerprint search services. Arrests can be transmitted electronically through the AFIS livescan. As cited by Quinche and Margot (130), a livescan machine replaces the ink-and-roll fingerprints offering a paperless environment. The fingers are usually rolled across a glass plate above a camera unit and later scanned into a computer. It is then converted to digital from and transmitted electronically to the director of criminal investigations for identification. The process of acquiring prints by means of placing a ten-print card onto a high speed scanner or flatbed is termed as cardscan. In the same way, in the field forensic methodologies there are other gadgets that capture prints from crime scenes both wired and wireless as well as ones that capture live finger impressions. The most common method of obtaining images of a fingerprint is still the inexpensive ink pad and paper form. In order to match a print, the print in question is scanned by a fingerprint technician. Thereafter, computer algorithms are used to mark all the cores, minuta points, and deltas detected on the print. In some other systems, the fingerprint technician is permitted to carry out a review of the points detected by the software, and relays the features set to a one-to-many search. As a result, the examiner checks through the probable matches to identify the most likely match (Raloff, 43-44). Therefore, if at a later crime scene matches are found this proves that the crimes were committed by the same person (Thompson, 1521). The average time of response for an electronic criminal fingerprint submission is approximately 27 minutes. Canter (12) argues that this rapid response of fingerprint identification via integrated automated identification fingerprint systems has made it possible to establish fugitives while still in police custody. While in the field, after photographing fingerprint evidence, a complete record of the technical regarding the camera, shutter speed, lens, film, memory, film, camera position, illumination, and angle are also kept. This is aimed at protecting the law enforcers from accusations of photography match (Gunn, 57). The cons of using magnetic fingerprinting and automated fingerprint identification is that it is very difficult to control variables, a little amount of data is collected that is not in detail as compared laboratory forensic technologies, it is also costly and time consuming to carry out a field investigation (Saks and Faigman, 169), limited accuracy of the measurement instruments, there is low-specificity, and difficulty to get evidence, as well as easiness of the evidence to be lost over time (Raloff, 47), evidence is also prone to manipulation which may lead to unrighteous verdict, maintaining the confidentiality of the information gathered in the field is quite difficult (Quinche and Margot, 130), finally, a minor error may result to wrong results. Conclusion To sum up, fingerprint recovery from a crime scene is a crucial method in forensic science. They are the impressions left by the friction edges of the human finger or even human foot. Image acquisition of the fingerprint is regarded as the most crucial step in an automated fingerprint identification system, such as, IAFAS. The use of magnetic resonance fingerprinting along with the integrated automated fingerprint identification systems has revolutionized the field of forensic science. Both methods reduced the waiting times for the fingerprints to be identified with IAFAS only taking 27 minutes to identify the suspect from an arbitrarily large data. In the same way, the image qualities of these methods are enhanced. However, the disadvantages of using these methods is that it is very difficult to control variables, time consuming, costly to the investigating agencies, the evidence can be manipulated, and can also be lost after a while in the field. Most forensic investigators are using magnetic resonance fingerprinting as well as IAFAS due to their speed, accuracy, image quality, and success rate, along with level of conviction. Due to the rapid development of forensic technology, in the U.S, plans are underway to replace the integrated automated fingerprint identification systems with a next generation identification system. Works Cited Bartzokis, G. et al. In vivo evaluation of brain iron in Alzheimer disease using magnetic resonance imaging. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 57.1 (2000): 47–53. Bilgic, B., Goyal, V. K. & Adalsteinsson, E. Multi-contrast reconstruction with Bayesian compressed sensing. Magn. Reson. Med. 66, (2011): 1601–1615. Brandi, J. and L. Wilson-Wilde. "Standard methods." Management/Quality in Forensic Science 2.1 (2013): 522-527. Canter, David. Criminal Shadows: Inside the Mind of the Serial Killer, London: HarperCollins, 2009, pp. 12–13. Dalrymple, B. E., J. M. Duff and E. R. Menzel. "Inherent fingerprint luminescence: Detection by laser." Journal of Forensic Science 22.1 (2013): 106-124. Gunn, Alan. Essentials of forensic biology. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. 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