CMRJ341

200 WORDS REPLY AGREE OR DISAGREE

The forensic discipline of fingerprint analysis and identification is based upon the three following principles:

Fingerprints are individual and unique – there are no two people with the same fingerprints (Thakkar, 2016). Fingerprints patterns are developed by each person’s individual biology. Even identical twins who share the same genetic coding do not have the same fingerprint patterns. The ridges in the fingers, toes, and palms are developed by various influences while still inside the mother’s womb. This could include individuals stresses or even the length of the umbilical cord (Bryner, 2012).

Fingerprints remain unchanged (Thakker, 2016). A person’s fingerprints remain unchanged throughout their life. As the surface skin wears off and new skin forms, the cells grow in the existing fingerprint patterns that the individual was born with. Attempts to alter or damage the fingerprints will be futile because unless the damage is severely deep, the pattern will grow back. If the damage is successful, this in itself creates a new pattern that will be persistent and now very unique (Forensic Science Simplified, n.d.).  

Fingerprints contain identifiable ridge patterns (Thakker, 2016). Even though each fingerprint is unique, there are three main patterns that that the print will be categories as – loop, arch or whorl. From here they will be further categorized into left or right patterns, radial or ulnar loops and several more (The Fingerprint Sourcebook, 2011). What makes the fingerprints even more identifiable are the minutiae points. These are the major differences that make the prints individual and identifiable. Some of these are ridge endings – where the ridge ends suddenly, ridge buification – where a single ridge branches out into two or more ridges, spurs – small notches protruding from the ridge and crossovers – where two ridges cross each other (Thakkar, 2016). 

According to the FBI (FBI, n.d.) NGI is a database that is run and used by the FBI to house the world’s largest and most efficient collection of biometric and a criminal history information. Biometrics is simply the term used for body measurements and calculations. This includes fingerprints, palm prints and irises. These points on the body are used for identification because the are unique to each individual and can not be altered. The NGI system has several capabilities that include advanced fingerprint identification technology – to increase the accuracy and daily fingerprint processing capacity, facial recognition search – to allow law enforcement agencies to submit a photo of a criminal and have the system match various facial features with thousands of pictures and create a candidate listing in a matter of minutes, and rap back – a system that allows authorized agencies to receive notifications of activity for individuals who hold secure positions such as school teachers or child care givers or those who are under criminal justice investigation. This system removes the need for repeated background investigations. 

Shira

Thakkar, D. (2016). 3 Fundamental Principles of Fingerprints. Retrieved from https://www.bayometric.com/3-fundamental-principles-fingerprints/

Bryner, M. (2012). Do Identical Twins Have Identical Fingerprints? Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/32247-do-identical-twins-have-identical-fingerprints.html

Forensics Science Simplified. (n.d.). Principles of Fingerprint Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.forensicsciencesimplified.org/prints/principles.html

The Fingerprint Sourcebook by Scientific Working Group on Friction Ridge Analysis, Study and Technology (SWGFAST), August 2011.

Thakkar, D. (2016). Minutiae Based Extraction in Fingerprint Recognition. Retrieved from https://www.bayometric.com/minutiae-based-extraction-fingerprint-recognition/

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.) Next Generation Identification (NGI). Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/fingerprints-and-other-biometrics/ngi