NCJ Number
175816
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 46 Issue: 6 Dated: June 1998 Pages: 26-29
Date Published
1998
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Advances in the recovery of latent fingerprints from both living and dead human skin have resulted in the identification and conviction of at least 39 criminals in the United States, and there are probably more cases that have not been reported.
Abstract
According to experts, the new recovery technique can yield identifiable fingerprints a large percentage of the time when performed correctly. The technique has been refined by a retired police who has been involved for more than two decades in lifting latent fingerprints from human skin. After investigating factors that made latent fingerprints recoverable, he determined ambient temperature played a key role in obtaining fingerprints. By manipulating the ambient temperature and keeping the skin at a certain temperature, the chance of obtaining readable fingerprints was improved. The retired police officer conducts training seminars on the recovery of fingerprints from human skin in which he shares details on the technique with others. 3 photographs