Moistened hands do not necessarily allude to high quality fingerprints: the relationship between palmar moisture and fingerprint donorship

We explored the quality distribution of ninhydrin-developed prints on A4 bond paper in two groups of individuals, in Israel and in India. While the quality distributions of the developed marks in both countries had some dissimilarities, both groups showed the expected bell-shape distribution, with the majority of the donors belonging to the central zone, defined as "average" or "good." Attempt was made to correlate between a physiological feature, palmar moisture, and the fingerprint donorship. As a rule, high fingermark quality could be associated with sweating hands, but there were individuals with moist palms whose fingermarks had a low score and vice versa. This finding supports the logical but hitherto unproven assumption that besides the amount of palmar sweat, the other physiological factor governing the prints' quality is the total amount of substrate, amino acids in this case, in the latent deposits, which depends on the substrate concentration in the sweat.     

Estimation of stature from foot and shoe measurements by multiplication factors: a revised attempt.

Estimation of stature from foot and shoe measurements using multiplication factors is well known. It is a simple method and it is used very frequently as a ready reckoner in forensic anthropology. However the individual error is quite large. In the present work an attempt has been made to evolve revised multiplication factors to reduce this error so that this method (multiplication factor) can be used more effectively with smaller error.     

Dynamics of latent fingerprints: The effect of physical factors on quality of ninhydrin developed prints — A preliminary study

The conditions under which latent fingerprints are deposited affect the process of development that can be used to effectively recover these marks. The conditions which can play a part include environmental conditions, the type of surface on which latents are deposited, the ability of the donor to deposit fingerprints, contact time, force of contact with the object etc. Very little previous work is available in the scientific literature addressing these conditions and therefore, an attempt has been made in this present study to assess the effect of some of these criteria and their effect on the ability of ninhydrin to develop the marks. Latent fingerprints from good and bad donors were obtained on paper with variable pressure under controlled conditions. Laboratory prepared 1% ninhydrin solution was used to visualise the prints.     

Development of latent fingermarks on thermal paper: Preliminary investigation into use of iodine fuming

Thermal paper finds its extensive use in the modern day life and could act as a vital piece of physical evidence carrying latent fingermarks. A large number of citations are available in literature suggesting various techniques to develop these marks but all are suffering with one or the other drawbacks such as complex and cumbersome procedure, pre- or post-treatment, background coloration and efficiency to develop aged fingermarks. In present study, a very simple and novel method involving iodine fuming has been suggested to develop fingermarks which were not only permanent but also without any background coloration. The suggested method does not involve any pre- or post-treatment of the substrate and was able to develop very old fingermarks (upto >1 year). In this study an attempt has been made to explain the reaction mechanism of the process. In case of different types of thermal papers, presence of different substituents on leuco dye (lactone ring) structure resulted in development of different colored fingermarks upon reaction with iodine. Sebaceous material laden marks have been found to be more intensely developed as compared to eccrine marks, and the difference was more pronounced in case of aged fingermarks.     

Development of latent fingerprints on compact disc and its effect on subsequent data recovery

Chance fingerprints may be found on every type of surfaces of contact and when they are latent, need to be developed by various methods. The type of surface on which latent prints are to be developed is one of the important factors when a choice for a method of development is to be made. The matter becomes more crucial when the surface is unique like a compact disc containing digital data. In this case, to develop the fingerprints is not the only matter to be taken care of but also, is very important to select such a method which may not effect the stored data and its retrieval. In present investigation, various methods have been tried to develop fingerprints on the writing surface of a CD and results are discussed with respect to their development as well as its effect on stored data and data retrieval.     

Estimation of stature from foot and shoe measurements by multiplication factors: A revised attempt

Estimation of stature from foot and shoe measurements using multiplication factors is well known. It is a simple method and it is used very frequently as a ready reckoner in forensic anthropology. However the individual error is quite large. In the present work an attempt has been made to evolve revised multiplication factors to reduce this error so that this method (multiplication factor) can be used more effectively with smaller error.     

Development of latent fingermarks by aqueous electrolytes

In this work we present our observations on the interaction between metallic (copper, aluminum, iron, brass, zinc) and non-metallic (glass and plastic) surfaces bearing latent fingermarks and several aqueous electrolytic solutions. Good quality fingermarks could be observed on some of the metallic and even on non-metallic surfaces after such treatment. The influence of factors such as time interval from deposition, pH of the electrolytes, wiping the latent marks prior to processing and the presence of a second metal on the quality and permanence of the developed impressions have been studied. As a rule, sebaceous marks provided much better quality impressions on all the surfaces. Initial explanations based on electrochemical processes are suggested.