Fingerprints and History Info

Question 1

What is Herschel’s principle of persistency?

Answer 1

Fingerprints are formed in early foetal development as a result of womb pressure and remain constant throughout life

Question 2

What did Henry Fauld’s establish about fingerprints?

Answer 2

They can be used in criminal investigations involving murder cases

Question 3

What did Henry Fauld’s say about fingerprints?

Answer 3

They are skin furrows of the hands

Question 4

What year was the first automated fingerprint recognition (AFR) system installed?

Answer 4

1984

Question 5

What year were fingerprints introduced for identification purposes in criminal investigations by the Belper Committee?

Answer 5

1990

Question 6

What year were AFR systems shared between all constabularies?

Answer 6

1992

Question 7

What year were contracts for NAFIS implemented?

Answer 7

1995

Question 8

What year was NAFIS implemented in all constabularies?

Answer 8

1999

Question 9

What year were all AFR systems transferred to an online database?

Answer 9

2001

Question 10

What year was IDENT1 introduced?

Answer 10

2004

Question 11

What does amido black detect in fingerprints and what surfaces can this be used on?

Answer 11

• Proteins so is good for use in blood/bodily fluids
• Porous/non-porous

Question 12

What does ninydrin/DFO detect in fingerprints and what surfaces can this be used on?

Answer 12

• Amino acids
• Porous e.g. paper

Question 13

What does Small Particle Reagent (SPR) detect in fingerprints and what surfaces can this be used on?

Answer 13

• Fatty constituents
• Non-porous

Question 14

What do cyanoacrylate vapours/superglue detect in fingerprint and what surfaces can this be used on?

Answer 14

• Water and possibly other constituents
• Non-porous

Question 15

What are the 3 main categories of fingerprint?

Answer 15

Whorl, arch, loop

Question 16

State and describe the 2 types of arch?

Answer 16

• Plain: flat
• Tented: steep

Question 17

State and describe the 3 types of loop?

Answer 17

• Plain: very simple, in and out
• Converging: collapsed in on themselves
• Nutant: snake-like, core points towards delta

Question 18

State and describe the 4 types of whorl?

Answer 18

• Spiral: simple
• Twinned loop: 2 cores, yin and yang effect
• Composite: arches and whorls
• Accidental: 2 or more patterns, doesn’t clearly fall under any category

Question 19

What are minutiae/Galton details?

Answer 19

Tiny characteristics of fingerprints that allow us to differentiate between person to person

Question 20

Name and describe every type of minutiae (6)

Answer 20

• Ridge endings: …
• Bifurcation: splits into 2 like a tuning fork
• Lake: bifurcation that re-joins to form a bubble
• Spur: bifurcation where 1 end stops and the other continues the pattern
• Independent ridges: small ridge segments by themselves
• Crossover: bifurcation where 1 end joins with another parallel ridge