NCJ Number
209891
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 55 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2005 Pages: 362-385
Date Published
May 2005
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This paper presents a review of personal experience, published accounts, interviews, case reports, and data collected from several thousand student questionnaires in reference to the recovery of latent prints from human skin and determining those related common denominators.
Abstract
Over the years, there have been many beliefs and statements regarding the recovery of prints from human skin. Information regarding the successful processing of human skin for latent print evidence was gathered, examined, and reviewed for common denominators. The factor most commonly associated with successful recoveries in actual cases was the environment in which the body was processed. This also held true in a review of clinical studies. Success has been achieved in the recovery of prints from skin when the body has been placed in an optimum environmental setting after exposure to unfavorable environmental conditions, such as extreme heat and extreme cold, and allowed to acclimate to the improved surroundings. Success in recovering latent prints from human skin is possible as long as the skin is intact and the temperatures and humidity are in the correct ranges. More well-trained individuals are needed and body processing should be attempted much more often than it has been. Tables, references and appendixes 1-3