NCJ Number
233767
Journal
Identification Canada Volume: 28 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2005 Pages: 1-40
Date Published
September 2005
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This issue's featured articles describe procedures for identifying the victims of the Thailand Tsunami, as well as the basics of cyanoacrylate fuming to develop latent fingerprints.
Abstract
The first article describes the work of disaster victim identification (DVI) teams after a Tsunami killed about 200,000 people in South East Asia on December 26, 2004. The Canadian team worked with other international DVI teams at Krabi, Thailand. Krabi was one of two main morgues established to collect postmortem information. The DVI teams in Krabi collected fingerprint, dental, DNA and personal identifier information from approximately 650 individuals over a 10-day period. The article discusses the historical development of Interpol DVI protocols, the Canadian DVI mission to Thailand, DVI team organization, morgue operations, and equipment. The purpose of the second article is to provide the reader with a greater understanding of the chemical process through which alkyl-2-cyanoacrylate (CA) reveals latent fingerprints. The technique most often used to develop latent fingerprints is the vaporization of CA in a hermetically closed container. The item containing the latent prints is hung up or placed in such a way that the CA fumes will have contact with the unseen fingerprints. Hot water in a container is then placed inside the fuming chamber next to CA. CA is then heated with a hot plate or other such device, so as to aid in vaporization. It is believed that water vapor combines with the salt deposits in the latent fingerprints and then initiates polymerization of air-borne CA monomers. Depending on the color of the substrate, the CA-fumed print may or may not be visible. For a white substrate, a fluorescent dye is required to make the print visible. This issue also provides information on recent activities of the Canadian Identification Society.