The Evidence

Evidence is very, very important in a crime investigation. Without evidence, it is very unlikely for the
forensic scientists to solve the case. The important evidences one can have is prints, and traces.


PRINTS

The prints that a person have at birth are his for life, no two individuals have the exact same pattern of prints.
Earlier individual identification systems like Bertillion's prisoner measurements process
which took a dozen or so body measurements in order to catalog individuals) were abandoned because it was too difficult
to search through thousands of files by hand to find a person with one arm a centimeter longer than the other.
In 1900, Sir Edward Richard Henry created a classification system using fingerprints
that is still being used in the United States today. Fingerprints cannot be borrowed, stolen or forgotten.

3 Types of Prints

Patent prints: Prints that are made observable by extra substances that coat the skin and are transferred
to some object. They need to be evaluated individually and may need to be moved to the lab before a lift
(a collection of the material making up a print) can be made.

Latent prints: Prints that are not generally visible to the naked eye which result from the transfer of normal
oils and salts from the skin to some surface. They may be visible under the right light, or need augmentation by powder or
chemical treatment.

Impressed prints: Prints that are not transferred from the skin to other surfaces, but instead are actual
physical moldings of a set of friction ridges. They can be lifted by capturing photographs of it, reverse
molding or casting.

*Prints can be from fingertips, ears, palms, soles, and lips.

TRACES

Traces, on the other hand, can cover everything from tire dirt to broken glass to carpet fluff to hair strands
to cigarette butts. But, there can also be hazardous evidences such as chemical threats (any compound injuries if ingested,
inhaled, contacted or ignited), biohazards (biological fluids that can carry hepatitis,
AIDS, or other viruses) and explosive threats (materials that indicate the presence of explosives).

 

 

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