Fingerprint

From ArticleWorld

A Fingerprint is a unique imprint on the pad of a finger, and which is used as infallible forensic evidence in criminal cases or court proceedings.

Fingerprints help the authorities in getting the identities of persons who can no longer be identified through their face or other physical characteristics. This is made possible through Dactyloscopy, a technique which distinguishes one fingerprint from another.

History

The science of identifying persons through their fingerprints has been widely-used, even during the ancient times.

Fingerprints have been used in Ancient Babylon for business transactions while finger imprints carved in clay were used by the Chinese for identification purposes. In Persia, fingerprints were used in government transactions.

In 1905, the United States Army started using fingerprints for identification purposes. This was followed by the US Navy in 1907 and the Marine Corp in 1908.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Identification Division was established in 1924. This started the Famous FBI fingerprint files, which has one of the most extensive fingerprint collections.

Use in Forensics

Fingerprints are used in Forensics to identify suspects in a criminal case. Authorities, relying on the uniqueness of fingerprints, believe that no two persons have the same fingerprints. However, there have been errors in identifying culprits through their fingerprints. One such error was responsible for putting a reputable lawyer in jail for a crime he did not commit.

The belief that fingerprints are infallible forensic evidence stems from the reality that while other detectable human characteristics are altered by time or other factors, fingerprints do not change.

But this belief is being challenged by more defense lawyers, who claim that the identification of persons through their fingerprints is not 100 percent accurate and should be declared inadmissible in court.