Fingerprints History

1. Fingerprints History • Earliest recognition of uniqueness of fingerprints & their suitability for personal identification apparently came from the ancient Chinese. • They used a thumbprint in lieu of a signature on legal conveyances & even criminal confessions. This was due to the prevalence of illiteracy making fingerprinting a practical measure.

2. Fingerprints • First scientific recognition of fingerprints: from certain late 17th century writings. • 1684 Dr Nehemiah Grew report described ridges & pores on hands & feet. This started it all. • Johannes E. Purkinje – first person to devise a system of classifying fingerprints.

3. Fingerprints • He published thesis in 1823 describing 9 fingerprint patterns, gave each a name & set down rules for individual identification, many of which are still followed today. • Two men recognized use for identifying people from fingerprints (Japan & India) working at same time but not aware of each other’s work.

4. Fingerprints • 1877 – William Herschel sought to implement his fingerprint system in Bengal jails but couldn’t get permission. • Dr. Henry Faulds, Scottish physician & surgeon discovered that oil & sweat from pores resulted in latent (invisible) prints that could be developed with powders. He used this technique to exonerate a man accused of burglary using fingerprints

5. Fingerprints • Faulds & Herschel argued over who was first in pioneering fingerprinting. Faulds was referred by Charles Darwin to Sir Francis Galton to settle argument. • Galton was interested in who pioneered it. He wanted to join in the new field.

6. Fingerprints • Galton published textbook, Finger Prints, in 1892 giving credit to Herschel as “the first to devise a system for the use of fingerprints for identification” & most important, setting forth a practical method of classification - Not just by patterns but by entire set of fingerprints of an individual so they could be filed.

7. Fingerprints • Edward Henry, Herschel’s successor in India, became interested in fingerprinting & he began work on his own classification system. • He simplified where possible, and added complexity where needed. Overall, he shaped the whole into a fully practical & workable system.

8. Fingerprints • Completed in 1899, his system was published in book form the following year. • In 1901, the Henry system of fingerprint classification & filing was implemented in England & Wales. • With later modifications by the FBI, the Henry system continues in use to the present day.

9. Fingerprints • 1894 Britain: primary identification method: bertillonage (system of anthropometry created by Alphonse Bertillon involving recording 11 measurements. • By turn of century, Scotland yard began to rely on fingerprints. Reluctantly, Bertillon added space on his record cards but for the right hand only.

10. Fingerprints • 1903, in the U.S. came case that marked the beginning of the end of bertillonage. • 5-1-1903: Will West sent to Leavenworth Penitentiary. Bertillon measurements taken. Clerk said he looked familiar, found another card with similar measurements & photo looking like him. Name on card was “William West”. So both men were brought together in same room.

11. Fingerprints • Will & William West denied being related but were actually identical twins. They had similar fingerprint patterns, ear patterns & wrote to the same brother, 5 sisters & Uncle George. • Fingerprints were taken & one man could be distinguished from another without fail. • The next day, the Henry method was adopted by the prison.

12. Fingerprints • In 1924, U.S. Congress established at the then-Bureau of Investigation (now FBI) the Identification Division to serve as nation’s repository of all fingerprints records. • During gangster era (20’s-30’s) finger-printing captured imagination of American public when it was seen as the premier scientific weapon for dealing with public enemies.

13. Fingerprints • Public Enemy #1, John Dillinger, sought to have fingerprints altered at same time he had plastic surgery to alter his face. • Result was a portion of each print scarred, but more than enough was left to match to his file prints. Scar patterns call attention to themselves. Like everything in nature, no two scar patterns are exactly alike.

14. Fingerprints • Today FBI’s Identification Division is largest unit with over 2,600 employees. • More than 200 million sets of prints represent more than 68 million individuals on file in the Criminal Justice Information Services Division. • Non-criminal fingerprint files are kept elsewhere.

15. Classification of Fingerprints • Second reason to leave Bertillon method: theft of Mona Lisa from the Louvre on August 21, 1911. • Thief left clear thumbprint on glass from painting. Bertillon had no method of classification for fingerprints on his cards. • Two years later, thief arrested, print from left thumb, prints on file from right hand.

16. Classification of Fingerprints • Sir Edward Henry lived to see his system of fingerprint classification become adopted & succeed. • With some modification, the Henry system is the one we use today! • The system divides fingerprints into 3 basic pattern types: arches, loops, & whorls.

17. Classification of Fingerprints • A fourth type listed in some books – composites, also known as “accidentals” – is considered a subtype of whorls: the accidental whorl. • These three main types are subdivided into eight distinct patterns.

18. Classification of Fingerprints • Arch: Plain or Tented • Loop: Radial or Ulnar • Whorl: Plain, Central Pocket Loop, Double Loop, Accidental • All human fingerprints have friction ridges and these ridges form the basis of all fingerprint patterns.

19. Classification of Fingerprints • Arch Patterns: • Plain Arch: ridges flow from one side of the pattern to the other with a rise or wave in the center; has a smooth rise & a gentle upward curve; simplest of all fingerprint patterns; generally gives no difficulty being correctly identified.

20. Classification of Fingerprints

21. Classification of Fingerprints • Arch Patterns: • Tented Arch: More complex; has either a central upthrust or well-defined angle; regarded as transitional pattern between arch & loop; example may be seen with “recurving” ridge or other feature common to loop pattern. But, it doesn’t have all 4 of pattern requisites • Arches represent only about 5% of all pattern types.

22. Classification of Fingerprints • Loop Patterns: a loop has one or more ridges that enter on one side, recurve, & flow back out on same side. • True loop-4 characteristics: core, approx. center of pattern; delta or triangular area caused by divergence of ridges; at least 1 recurving ridge passing between core & delta; at least 1 ridge count (# of ridges that cross or touch imaginary line between precise core & precise delta).

23. Classification of Fingerprints

24. Classification of Fingerprints • Radial Loop & Ulnar Loop: based on ridge flow direction relative to 2 long bones on forearm. Radius–thumb side; Ulna–little finger side. To characterize fingerprint as radial or ulnar loop, you must know which hand it came from. Ridge flows are reversed for left & right hands. • Loops: 60% of all fingerprints; most common fingerprint pattern

25. Classification of Fingerprints • Whorl patterns: • Plain whorl: has 2 deltas & at least 1 ridge that makes a complete circuit about the core. Some have concentric circles, ovals, or spiral • Central pocket loop whorl: complex pattern, perhaps most troublesome to classify; essentially a combination of loop & whorl; has all characteristics of loop with addition of second delta near core & whorl-type ridge or ridges circuiting around the core.

26. Classification of Fingerprints

27. Classification of Fingerprints • How to differentiate between plain whorl & central pocket loop whorl: Draw a line between deltas: plain whorl must cross at least 1 whorl-type ridge; in central pocket loop whorl, this cannot happen. • Double loop whorl consists of 2 separate loop formation, each with its own core & 2 deltas.

28. Classification of Fingerprints

29. Classification of Fingerprints • Accidental whorl is a pattern with 2 or more deltas that may not be placed by definition in any of the other classes. • Whorls represent 35% of all fingerprint patterns. • Fingerprints intended for classification & filing are recorded on standard 8” x 8” cards.

30. Classification of Fingerprints • These cards have spaces for rolled impressions from each finger (inked & rolled from one side to the other to record the entire pattern) plus spaces for plain impressions (four fingers of each hand are pressed simultaneously, followed by the unrolled thumb print) which serve as checks on the rolled impression so they are recorded in correct sequence.

31. Classification of Fingerprints • Top of card, fingerprint classification & name are recorded. On reverse, portrait parle (“word picture”) of the subject: height, weight, eye color, hair color, scars, etc. & a place for full-face & profile photos. Space for a “criminal history” is usually included on cards recording fingerprints of felons.

32. Classification of Fingerprints • After prints are recorded & information put on card, 1st stage of classification begins called blocking out the set of prints by placing in space below each rolled impression a letter/symbol corresponding to its pattern type. • All whorls are marked W & ulnar loops are signified by \ for right hand & / for left hand

33. Classification of Fingerprints • For index fingers: A for plain arch, T for tented arch, R for radial loop. • For all other fingers the same symbols are used but in lowercase a, t, & r. • Next ridge counts of all loop patterns are written in upper right corners of blocks.

34. Classification of Fingerprints • Finally, each whorl-type pattern is given a ridge trace from lower left side of left delta to right delta dropping to a lower ridge anytime the ridge ends or forks. If trace ends within 1 or 2 ridges of right delta, a meeting whorl is indicated, otherwise it is designated as inner whorl or outer whorl depending on whether trace ridge passes inside or outside the right delta.

35. Classification of Fingerprints • The symbol for appropriate ridge tracing – I, M, or O – is written in upper right-hand corner of each finger block containing a whorl-type pattern to complete blocking-out process. • Formula for classifying fingerprints may be composed of 7 possible divisions: primary, secondary, subsecondary, major divisions, second subsecondary, final & key.

36. Classification of Fingerprints • Positions in completed classification line are as shown below: Right hand on top of line, left hand below the line Second Subsecondary Classification Key Major Primary Secondary Subsecondary Final Divisions Classification Classification Classification

37. Classification of Fingerprints • Note some elements extend above & below the line. Second subsecondary classification, as its position indicates, is optional, used when a group of fingerprints becomes so large that it needs further subdivision. • Key is the ridge count of the first loop. For the major divisions, ridge counts of thumb are used.

38. Classification of Fingerprints • Anything over 22 ridges is termed large. • Primary classification, whorls are recorded • Secondary classification represents the patterns of index fingers. • Subsecondary classification is based on the 3 middle fingers of each hands with whorls being designated I, M, or O & loops depending on small or large ridge counts being represented as I or O.

39. Classification of Fingerprints • Final classification records ridge count of the right little finger with provisions for that print being a pattern other than a loop. • Such as classification system permits fingerprints to be filed & subsequently retrieved. • Primary classification alone permits fingerprint cards to be divided into 1,024 groups.

40. Classification of Fingerprints • Classification of “Scarface” Al Capone 29 L 1 U IOI 6 L 1 U IOI Remember right hand on top of line & left hand on bottom of line

41. Classification of Fingerprints • Key for right thumb is 29, over 22 ridges so Capone gets L/L, devoid of any whorl-type patterns so assigned a simple 1/1 for primary classification, index fingers ulnar loops so U/U for secondary classification, IOI/IOI for three middle fingers as sub-secondary classification, ridge count on right little finger is 6 for final classification. Second subsecondary classification omitted

42. Classification of Fingerprints • In 1933, the FBI addressed the longtime problem of being limited to searching files of known suspects. • Inauguration of a single-fingerprint file using modifications of a method developed by former Scotland yard Chief Inspector Harry Battley.

43. Classification of Fingerprints • The method utilized a special reticule, half of which had a series of concentric circles that were used to define specific areas of scrutiny. Some pattern types were sub-divided (arches into 5 categories) & ridge counts for whorls were added. • Additional work multiplied tenfold the work for classificating fingerprints.

44. Classification of Fingerprints • As a practical matter, files were kept only for certain notorious criminals, repeat felons, & those in certain categories such as bank robbers & kidnappers. • Since 1970, computer technology has made it possible to automate the process of fingerprint searching with the automated fingerprint identification systems (AFIS).

45. Classification of Fingerprints • A serial killer in Los Angeles with 15 murders was identified in about 20 minutes after AFIS was brought into service. • This would have taken about 67 years to manually search through the fingerprint files that AFIS did in under half an hour.

46. Identification of Fingerprints • Method of comparison of fingerprints is to use the ridge characteristics or minutiae to individualize the print, establishing the individuality or uniqueness of it. • One should speak of identifying a marking as a fingerprint but of individualizing a fingerprint as that belonging to a particular person.

47. Identification of Fingerprints • Ridge characteristics or minutiae used to individualize a fingerprint include those used in AFIS. • Ridge ending – termination point of a friction ridge (end of friction ridge) • Bifurcation – branching or forking of a ridge into two ridges

48. Identification of Fingerprints • Ridge dot: ridge feature that resembles a period & is only about as long as it is wide. • Enclosure: ridge characteristic resembling eyelet caused by bifurcation legs coming together again to form a single ridge. • Short ridge: one whose terminal (end) points are very close together.

49. Classification of Fingerprints

50. Identification of Fingerprints • Trifurcation: branching into 3 bridges • Bridge: or bar linking two ridges • Creases: short white lines crossing ridges, not considered minutiae because they are impermanent features (not permanent) • Scar: may be utilized as such for purpose of comparing two prints