Twenty-six years ago today, fingerprint technology captured stalker Richard Ramirez, aka the Night Stalker. It wasn’t the police that found and caught him—it was a group of civilians who recognized him while he tried to steal a car. When he…
Prior to the implementation of fingerprints as the primary means by which to identify people, many penitentiaries had adopted what was known as the Bertillon system of measurements. These measurements established a record for every prisoner, much like 10-print (fingerprint)…
A ballistic fingerprint database is a computerized database of markings on bullet casings made by legally purchased guns. The idea is much the same as the fingerprint database AFIS or the DNA database CODIS, both of which house input known…
Is bacteria the new forensic tool? A new study out of Colorado shows that it may be possible to identify who touched an object by what bacterial colonies they left behind. According to a "hand bacteria study" of more than…
Believe it or not, super glue is taking over latent fingerprint development, leaving fingerprint powders in the dust. The super glue identification method is becoming the next big thing. The cyanoacrylate fuming method, also referred to as the super glue…
Fingerprints recovered from guns are found on the ‘spent’ or fired shell casings. When a bullet is fired it is sent through the barrel of the gun at an amazing speed, as part of the firing mechanism the primer in…
Is the study of forensics art or science? The National Research Council recently released a report entitled "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward" in which it outlined many of the problems and criticisms of modern forensic science.…