Importance of making sure all fingerprints related with a high profile case are identified

Just a quick word on the importance of making sure all fingerprints related with a high profile case are identified. This Fla. case is a prime example:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/court-rules-new-evidence-will-be-heard-in-polk-county-murder/1031909
When this crime occured the automated systems were not widely used,it would be 12 years before the FBI automaated fingerprint database would come on-line for local police latent units. Many agencies however continue to ignore the unidentified latent fingerprint image(s) once they have a prime suspect. The unidentified latent fingerprint(s)go into the case folder and that is the end of the investigation. What should happen with the unidentified latent fingerprint, even if an individual in a high profile case is convicted , the latent fingerp0rints should be entered into the automated fingerprint identification systems unsolved latent file. A file which will compare the unidentified latents entered against new arrest cards as they are added to the fingerprint databases. If this process does generate new suspects the fingerprints will be compared and the results returned to the investigators. The unidentified files do have a limit on the number of unidentifieds that it can handle however for most agencies it would allow the prints to be searched for quite a number of years.

Why bother for the few if any times this will occur ?

• 1st. a matter of getting the individual who actually committed the crime, a public safety issue.
• 2nd. cost, a retrial is a very costly matter. The cost of having prints searched by an automated system are insignificant even using the unidentified option.

Defense attorneys really should insure all latents have been identified and if not insure they were properly searched and stored in the systems unsolved latent file.

Bob McAuley
Dir. Operations/Training
Forensic Biometric Identification Solutions LLC.

Law student was detained by Chicago PD in the Cook Co. Jail for a week before a fingerprint check revealed they had the wrong individual. The PD was unrepentant "We did what we were supposed to do --- hold him--- but it took longer than would have liked to confirm his identity" said the PD spokesman.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/stolen-Identity-Leads-to-Mistaken-Arrest-55001292.html

There is no possible way that a fingerprint check of a college student should take a week. I would guess that the PD was nonchalant because "legally" they had 30 days to hold the young man. The ChicagoPD may say we are a large city with a lot of crime as a reason for the slow response, but that should not be the case. Another excuse might be they wanted to compare prints from the agency that put out the want again in today's digital world not an excuse. NYC has a 24 hr. time frame from arrest to arraignment, 3 hr's is allocated to capturing and getting a response on the arrest fingerprint card. What this means is that if this had happened in NYC the fingerprints would have been through the state and FBI fingerprint systems with the results in less than 3 hr's, most cards take less than 1 hr. If the hold up was with a comparison with prints held by another agency a simple e-mail with just 1 finger attached at 500 dpi could have been used to determine if it was the wanted individual.

If the young man was detained over a weekend it could be justified but a week is to much, I guess Chicago PD is not a community policing organization.

Bob McAuley
Dir. Operations/Training
Forensic Biometric Identification Solutions LLC.

Fingerprint Training

I've been working on a basic pattern recognition and verification course which started as a project for a non criminal automated system. While I was preparing the course I realized that if I did it on line I could reach a broader audience. The course could be used by law enforcement as a basic foundation course to develop latent examiners, individuals working on automated fingerprint systems or even law offices so they could actually evaluate the fingerprint and know when they need a fingerprint expert.

In today's world dominated by the automated fingerprint identification systems training has been simplified, we no longer need to know the full fingerprint classification formula. While the classification formula has been simplified the ability to determine pattern should not be simplified. As all experienced latent or tenprint examiners know; the ability to distinguish pattern type to include the sub-groupings is critical in learning and understanding fingerprint basics. Many automated systems use pattern as a filter or binning tool to increase the speed and accuracy of the system. The fingerprint examiner has to understand the difference between a left slant loop and a central pocket loop whorl or a left slant loop and a spoiled loop tented arch. If the differences aren't understood the database gets corrupted and system accuracy will be diminished. People tend to concentrate on the experienced latent fingerprint examiner and fail to realize that the database the examiner uses is updated and maintained by individuals with far less experience and training.

A good basic pattern recognition/verification course is essential in developing a good database as well as latent examiners, preventing fingerprint errors and creating reliable search databases.




Bob McAuley
Dir. Operations/Training
Forensic Biometric Identification Solutions LLC.

How to obtain more reliable fingerprint evidence

Read the 2007 paper by Roger Koppl "CSI for Real: How to Improve Forensics Science". The paper is well written, thoughtful and accurate. The paper presents some very good ideas on how to improve the system. What caught my eye was the study of proficiency tests conducted by the Forensic Sciences Foundation (FSF) and Collaborative Testing Services (CTS) from 1978-1991.
In the fingerprint test they “attempted to simulate actual conditions by creating smudged, elongated, compressed and other irregular latent print specimens.” The best results were for
the group that included finger and palm prints, the rate of false identifications for the period was 2 percent. The researchers estimate that fingerprints appear in roughly 7 percent of felony case filings each year. Roughly 924,700 adults were convicted of a felony in State courts in 2000” and another 77,000 in U.S. district courts. These numbers suggest that about a million felony cases are brought to trial and concluded each year. Approximately 70,000 involve fingerprint evidence. It can reasonably be inferred, that of these 70,000 cases, at least 2 percent or 1,400, involve a false identification. The identification of a latent print lifted from a crime scene with an inked print from a suspect will usually produce a conviction.

The 2% figure is consider low by some, other studies have produced greater percentages of error, regardless, even a small percentage of errors produce a significant number of incorrect identifications. While not discussed in the article the number of missed identifications is significantly larger and is another cause of individuals being wrongly convicted.

While Prof. Koppl has some excellent suggestions, in the interim it is the responsibility of defense counsel to insure fingerprint evidence is accurate and reliable. The adversarial system of justice allows even fingerprint evidence to be questioned and tested to insure accuracy. In today's electronic world fingerprint evidence being brought to trial in NY, can be evaluated by an independent examiner in NE or any other state. The costs, because travel and shipping are no longer an issue, are reasonable enough that every defendant should be able to have an evaluation of the fingerprint evidence.

Bob McAuley
Dir. Operations/Training
Forensic Biometric Identification Solutions LLC.