ABSTRACT
Introduction .................................................................................................. 106 Powder Dusting............................................................................................. 108
Regular Fingerprint Powders................................................................. 108 Traditional Fingerprint Powders .................................................... 108 Organic Fingerprint Powders ......................................................... 111
Luminescent (Fluorescent and Phosphorescent) Fingerprint Powders............................................................................... 112 Metallic (Magnetic, Fine Lead, and Metal Evaporation) Fingerprint Powders............................................................................... 112 Thermoplastic Fingerprint Powders ..................................................... 113 Casting of Plastic Fingerprints/Recovery by Casting Methods .......... 113
Small Particle Reagent and Variants ............................................................ 113 Chemical Fuming and Enhancement.......................................................... 115
Iodine Fuming........................................................................................ 115 Iodine Fuming Gun Method.......................................................... 115 Iodine Fuming Cabinet Method .................................................... 116 Iodine Dusting Method .................................................................. 116 Iodine Solution Method ................................................................. 116
Cyanoacrylate (Super Glue) Fuming.................................................... 117 Cyanoacrylate Fuming Procedure.................................................. 117 Fume Circulation Procedure .......................................................... 118 Heat Acceleration Procedure .......................................................... 119 Chemical Acceleration Procedure .................................................. 119 Vacuum Acceleration Procedure .................................................... 119 Other Acceleration Procedures....................................................... 120 Further Enhancement and Post-Treatment Procedures after Cyanoacrylate Processing....................................................... 121
Gentian Violet Solution — Phenol Containing Formulation .............................................................................. 121 Gentian Violet Solution — Non-Phenol Formulation.......... 122
Coumarin 540 Dye Staining Method...................................... 122 Androx Dye Staining Method ................................................. 122 Other Dyes and Dye Mixtures................................................. 123 Rare Earth Complexes.............................................................. 124
Fluorescent and Other Chemical Fuming/Treatment Procedures...... 125 Ninhydrin and Chemical Alternatives......................................................... 127
Ninhydrin ............................................................................................... 127 Pre-Treatment and Post-Treatment Techniques for the Enhancement of Ninhydrin-Developed Latent Prints ........................ 130 Chemical Alternatives to Ninhydrin..................................................... 131
Reagents for Detection of Amino Acids ........................................ 132 Ninhydrin Analogues ...................................................................... 134
Development of Latent Prints With Metal Ions/Compounds — Physical Developers ...................................................................................... 136
Silver Nitrate Reagent ............................................................................ 136 Other Silver-Containing Compounds .................................................. 136 Physical Developer ................................................................................. 136 Modified Physical Developer Methods................................................. 138 Metal Deposition.................................................................................... 140
Special Surfaces or Situations ...................................................................... 140 Enhancement of Bloody Fingerprints .................................................. 140 Development of Latent Prints on Tape or Sticky Surfaces ................. 147 Detection of Latent Prints on Skin....................................................... 149 Development of Latent Fingerprints on Wet Surfaces ........................ 150 Development of Latent Fingerprints on Other Special Surfaces........ 150
Luminescence/Fluorescence — Laser and Alternative Light Source Methods for Latent Print Enhancement ..................................................... 150
Laser Light and Alternative Light Sources ........................................... 150 Miscellaneous Methods ................................................................................ 153 Systematic Approaches to Latent Print Processing .................................... 153 References ...................................................................................................... 160
Fingerprints have often been and still are considered one of the most valuable types of physical evidence in identification. A complete discussion of the history and development of fingerprints and their use in identification is presented in Chapter 1. There are, in general, three forms of fingerprint evidence that may be found at a crime scene: visible (or patent) prints, impression (or plastic) prints, and latent prints. This chapter is mainly concerned with latent prints, which, as the name suggests, are ordinarily invisible
or less visible and thus require some means of development or enhancement for their visualization. Over time, many investigators have explored new and improved techniques for the development and recovery of latent prints. In more recent years, new dimensions have been opened in latent print processing techniques, revolutionizing the field of fingerprint identification. New techniques have been developed not only for latent fingerprint detection, but also for fingerprint identification. These developments have significantly improved the efficiency of criminal investigation and personal identification.
