Forensic Evidence and Collection
Assignment 1
Investigation of the main techniques that aid in the
analysis of evidence
Biological
Techniques
Fingerprinting
Fingerprinting is incredibly
helpful in forensics. Every single human being on the planet has a different
fingerprint; and because of this it is possible to identify criminals from
single, invisible prints left at a crime scene.
Fingerprints remain unchanged for
life unless deep damage occurs to the skin, such as heavy burns or scarring.
Also, the fingerprint is one of the last features to be lost from a dead body
as it decomposes and so is very useful for identifying dead bodies.
Fingerprinting as a method of
identifying suspects has been around in on form or another for well over a
century. The idea of using fingerprinting for practical identification was
first suggested in 1880 by a physician, and in 1883 in Mark Twain’s book Life on
the Mississipi a murderer was identified using
his fingerprints. Today, the national database of fingerprints has over 5
million sets of prints, and fingerprinting has helped lead to the conviction of
millions of criminals worldwide.
