NCJ Number
147716
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 61 Issue: 2 Dated: (February 1994) Pages: 29,31-32,34
Date Published
1994
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Tremendous strides have been made in the way latent fingerprints are taken from the crime scene; new reagents, superglue fuming, fluorescent dyes, lasers, and alternative light sources have enabled crime scene technicians to take prints from surfaces that were impossible several years ago.
Abstract
Forensic scientists continue to forge ahead with new developments, many of them funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Research at the University of Pennsylvania, for example, is attempting to synthesize compounds to create derivatives or analogs of ninhydrin, an amino acid used in fingerprinting. The researchers have also proposed creating a number of novel sulfa-containing compounds. Another development funded by the NIJ involves the development of a system to make the superglue fuming process portable. Developed by scientists at Alaska's Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory, the vapor pump consists of a small compressor, a heat source, and a vapor chamber. The vapor pump combined with a vapor wand have made the fuming process portable. The advent of automated fingerprint identification systems facilitates the rapid storage, retrieval, and matching of fingerprints, although such systems are quite costly. In response to cost and compatibility issues, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is developing its Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, a paperless computerized criminal history and identification system involving multiple law enforcement agencies.