Fingerprints

FINGERPRINT

Fingerprint

Student 's name

Institution 's name

Instructor 's name

Class

Finger Prints

Introduction

Fingerprints are one of the oldest and most important evidence categories in forensic science . The use of these curious , highly individual friction ridge skin patterns on the end joint of the fingers as a means of personal identification dates back many centuries . We have reached a point where fingerprint individuality is an article of faith among the public and is almost universally accepted among forensic and other scientists . According , a fingerprint

match is widely accepted as certain evidence that identifies a particular person

Because fingerprints are unique , they are used to identify people . In forensic science , we think of fingerprints as being used primarily to help locate , identify , and eliminate suspects in criminal cases . But fingerprints , along dentition , are also important in making unequivocal identifications of human remains when more conventional methods of postmortem identification cannot be used . Fingerprints may also be thought of as one member of a class of biometric identifiers that also include retina or iris patterns , face thermography , and some others . As the technology for rapid scanning and storage of these biometric patterns develops , they are becoming more important as security features to help avoid problems associated with forged identification documents

The two features of fingerprints most important for their use a means of personal identifications are (1 ) every fingerprint is unique to an individual , and (2 ) fingerprints do not change throughout life unless damage has occurred to the dermal skin layer

The background and history of the science of fingerprints constitute an eloquent drama of human lives , of good an evil . Nothing has played a part more exciting than that enacted by the fascinating loops , whorls and arched etched on the fingers of a human being

History of Fingerprint Pattern Recognition

The modern history of fingerprint identification begins in the late 19th century with the development of identification bureaus charged with keeping accurate records about individuals indexed , not according to name , but according to some physical attribute . Only in 19 century was modern stated bureaucratic enough to presume to maintain organized criminal records that extended beyond a single parish of locality . Early criminal records indexed by name were vulnerable to subversion by the simple expedient of adopting an alias . Hence there developed the idea of indexing records according to some bodily feature . An early , extremely cumbersome , effort was the British Register of Distinctive Marks , which listed convicts according to some distinctive feature like a birthmark scar , or tattoo . The demand for criminal histories was in large part driven by changes in jurisprudence . A Shift of a focus from the criminal act to the criminal individual demanded more complete and accurate knowledge about each offender 's criminal history . This would enable individualized penal "treatment " and differential punishment on first-time offenders and recidivists

Although there is a long and murky prehistory of uses of fingerprints to authenticate the identity of individuals , principally in Asia , it was not until the late 19century that...