Latent prints
Impression left by friction ridge skin on a surface, such as a tool, glass or door
Colored powder and tape
Used to reveal prints
Fluorescent powder and UV lights
Help investigators find latent prints ok dark or colored surfaces
Magnetic powder
Helps investigators find latent prints on shiny surfaces or plastic bags and containers
Cyanoacrylate fuming method
Develops latent prints on a variety of objects , attaches to amino acids in the fingerprint
Ninhydrin
Chemical that bonds with amino acids in fingerprints, produces blue or purple color
Ridgeology
Study of uniqueness of friction ridge structure and their use for personal identification
Fingerprints
Made of series of ridges and valleys, uniqueness of fingerprint can be determined by pattern of ridges and valleys and minutiae points
Similarity or points identification
Where minutiae points match
AFIS
automated fingerprint identification system
Arches
Ridges enter on side and exit on the other side: plain and tented
Whorls
Consist of circles, more than one loop, mixture of pattern types: plain, double loop, accidental, central pocket
Loops
Ridges enter on one side and exit on the same side: left radical, left ulnar, right radical, right ulnar