Use of Camphor in the Development of Latent Prints on Unfired Cartridge Casings

• NCJ Number: 215681
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 56 Issue: 5 Dated: September-October 2006 Pages: 694-705
• Author(s): Valerie Sturelle; Celine Cominotti; Damien Henrot; Xavier Desbrosse
• Date Published: September 2006
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Because camphor fumigation has been successful in developing latent prints on metallic surfaces, this study tested whether it could develop latent prints on unfired cartridge casings, which are composed of copper, aluminum, brass, nickel-plated brass, lacquered brass, and varnished steel.

Abstract

After treatment with the camphor, the 1-week-old latent prints on the cartridge casings revealed better quality ridges compared to traditional techniques. The ridge detail was fine and regular, and the soot was wiped off easily from between the ridges. The latent prints on the lacquered brass cartridge casings developed as well with camphor as they did with cyanoacrylate; however, on varnished steel, the contrast between the black ridges and the substrate (dark green) was poor. A transfer was necessary. For most of the varnished steel cartridge casings, the camphor adhered too strongly to the varnish, yielding background noise and affecting the quality of the print. Thus, cyanoacrylate offered better definition and quality for prints on varnished steel. On the brass and nickel-plated brass cartridge casings, the quality of the prints was better than on the aluminum cartridge casings, because the oxidation occurred more slowly. Prints older than 3 weeks could not be developed. The camphor fuming method is simple, inexpensive, nontoxic, fast, and easy to use; it can be used at crime scenes. Also, camphor is nonabrasive and does not interfere with further possible ballistic examinations. The cartridge casings were cleaned with ethanol, and then prints were deposited on each cartridge casing by one donor. The casings were stored in an enclosed cabinet and were tested at intervals of 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks. The camphor fuming technique for developing latent prints was compared with three other techniques: cyanoacrylate, pyrrole electropolymerization, and silver nitrate, in order to determine the best technique for each surface. 6 figures and 7 references