Exam Flashcards
Porous Processing Sequence
Visual examination
Indanedione
DFO
Ninhydrin
(Oil Red O if wetted)
Physical developer
Porous Surfaces
Absorbent, permeable to gases or liquids, water will be absorbed
Examples of porous surfaces
Paper, cardboard, unfinished woods
Non-Porous Surfaces
Non-absorbent, not permeable to liquid or gas, water will pour off
Examples of non-porous surfaces
Glass, plastic, metal
What kind of chemicals need to be used to examine porous surfaces?
Chemicals that react to amino acids or chemicals that are sensitive to lipids and oils from fingerprint residues
Amino Acid
Organic compounds that combine to form proteins
Urea
An organic compound essential for waste production by the body after metabolizing protein
Sodium Chloride
Natural occurring salt in the body
Lipids
Organic compounds not soluble in water but soluble in fat solvents such as alcohol. Energy reserves that are also important components of cell membranes.
Drying Fingerprints
Most of the print is water, which evaporates and leaves lipids, amino acids, sodium chloride, and urea
Amino Acids on Porous Surfaces
Bind to fibres, making them stable even when deepened
What kind of chemical treatments react to amino acids?
Most of them
What are the factors affecting how deep a latent print will penetrate a porous surface?
Environmental conditions such as moisture/humidity, and the porosity of the surface
How are aqueous fingerprint reagents applied?
Dipping, spraying, or brushing
What does the choice of reagent depend on?
Colour, has the substrate ever been wet, porosity of the substrate
What happens with latent prints on non-porous surfaces?
Latent print resides on the surface
Semi-Porous Surfaces
Allow certain liquids or gases through, usually by diffusion
Examples of semi-porous surfaces
Magazines, waxy-coated paper products, carbon paper, photographs, glossy wall paints, wallpapers, latex gloves, varnished woods
Destruction of exposed prints on non-porous surfaces
Easily destroyed by rubbing when places in plastic bags, so use paper. Fragile against the environmental conditions.
Benefits of Indanedione
Reacts with different amino acids than ninhydrin and develops more latent prints than ninhydrin or DFO alone. Fingermarks are both visible and fluorescent, and more fluorescent than using DFO.
Indanedione Signature
Light pink colour under ambient light
Disadvantage of Indanedione
May be possible to degrade/destroy DNA so must test for DNA prior to using
Zinc Salts in Indanedione
Enhances colour and luminescence, with the only drawback being a reduced shelf life
Application of Indanedione
Liquid is applied to substrate and allowed to dry. Heat press at 165°C for 10 seconds, or incubated at 100°C for 20 mins at 60-80% humidity.
DFO
Amino acid-sensitive reagent best viewed with ALS
Benefits of DFO
Highly fluorescent, develops twice as many prints as ninhydrin
DFO Signature
Pale purple colour
Application of DFO
Liquid is applied to substrate. Heat in incubator at 100°C for 20 mins.
Disadvantages of DFO
Must be completed in a dry environment
Ninhydrin
Water and alcohol soluble. Reacts with proteins and non-specific amino acids, proteins, and peptides
Ninhydrin Signature
Ruhemann’s purple colour
Application of Ninhydrin
Apply liquid to substrate. Moisture and heat in ninhydrin cabinet.
Disadvantages of Ninhydrin
Requires a carrier solution or polar solvent
Benefits of Ninhydrin
Works well on older latent prints
What if you have multiple items from the same scene that need to be examined the same way?
They can be treated as a group (can all go in the cabinet together), but must be examined individually
Sequential Processing
A process used to examine an item in a methodical and systematic approach
First 3 steps of sequential processing
Same in each examination. Visual examination in ambient light, then white light, then a forensic light source.
What’s wrong with terms like “decision” and “likelihood”?
Uncertainty
Identification according to CanFRWG
Identification is the opinion by the examiner, based on training, knowledge, and experience, that the friction ridge impression originated from the same source
“Uniqueness”
Misleading or confusing in court
What should you say instead of “sufficient uniqueness to individualize”?
“Friction ridge identification is established through the agreement of sufficient friction ridge formations in sequence”
Filters
Can be used to enhance an image or eliminate other areas of the image. Allows specific wavelengths to be recorded.