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Fingerprints

A Comprehensive Look at LatentSleuth

June 2021

LatentSleuth is a novel software tool set designed for (and with direct feedback from) latent print examiners. The toolset includes a small-scale automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) matcher that leverages a novel matching algorithm that calculates a warp between a latent print image and a given reference print image. This webinar will demonstrate a comprehensive quantification of a latent images entire structure and how that quantification is exploited in a commercially available workstation for latent print examination. 

How old is that fingerprint?

Date Published
September 2021
Agencies
NIJ-Sponsored
Publication Type
Research (Applied/Empirical), News and Announcement

Just Using Inadvertently Photographed Ridge Detail as Evidence

November 2024

In episode two of our case studies Season Just Science sat down with Tim Fayle Training Capability Lead for IDEMIA Australasia and Chair of the International Association for Identifications Latent Print Certification Board to discuss the utility of friction ridge detail inadvertently captured via photographs as a valuable and potentially underutilized type of evidence within a variety of case types.

Just a Curious Case of Print Persistence

September 2022

In episode two of our Applications of Forensic Science for Human Identification Season, Just Science sat down with Bryan Johnson, the Major Incident Program Manager in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Latent Print Unit, to discuss how postmortem prints can be used to help identify unknown decedents. One of the cheapest, easiest and fastest methods of identifying individuals is through friction ridge prints. However, challenges can arise in cases where trauma or decomposition affect quality of a decedent's hands.

Just Collecting Fingerprints Without Contact

November 2023

In episode seven of our case Study season Just Science sat down with Ross Krewenka product manager IDEMIA and Mike Ransom, automated print manager for the Michigan State Police, to discuss the development and use cases of contactless fingerprint capture technology. Traditionally, ink and paper are used to capture fingerprints from subjects.

Just a Curious Case of Print Persistence

August 2022

In episode one of our Case Studies Part 1 mini season, Just Science sat down with Michael Fagert, a certified latent print examiner at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, to discuss a latent print phenomenon that is not often seen in casework. There are very few instances of identifiable fingerprints on cartridge cases recovered from crime scenes, as the firing process introduces adverse physical and thermal stressors to fingerprint residues.