Historical Perspective of Finger Print Science

India has the proud privilege of being actively associated with the development of this basic science. It is said that thousand of years before the birth of Christ. Chinese monarchs used finger impressions for official purpose of sealing important state documents, though this could perhaps have been more as part of a ritual or even ornamentation than for the purpose of identification. Clay seals were mostly used for sealing documents. Indus Valley civilization extensively used fingerprints embossed on clay tablets/seals. The use of fingerprints on seals clearly indicates their significance for identification purposes. Fingerprints alongwith palm prints known as ‘PANJA” were used for several centuries in Bengal. Shahjahan’s Royal hand seal on certain important document is abundant testimony to the above fact. The history and development of fingerprint science as a means of identification or persons is really fascinating.  

The following are the pioneers of this natural science who brought fingerprints an infallible  means of personnel identification:-

• Dr. Henry Faulds

• Sir William Hershel

• Sir Francis Galton

• Sir Edward Richard Henry

• Khan Bahadur Aziz-Ul-Haq

• Rai Bahadur Hem Chander Boss

BRIEF HISTORY & CONDUCT OF FPB

Finger Print Bureau, Phillaur is the second oldest Bureau in the country and has earned recognition and appreciation of the Police Force all over the Country and Courts including the highest Courts of India. This reputation is virtually synonymous with its location i.e “Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur”. Since its inception (1894), the Bureau has maintained its status and  royalty being a perfect Science Principle (Yes & No) . This institution is a crime detection agency of Police Force. The Bureau has its major joints with important extensions i.e Criminal Investigating Department, Vigilance Bureau and Crime Branch in linking the criminals with crime. The Punjab Finger Print Bureau, Phillaur is also looking after the Finger Printing work/ training of its affiliated States i.e Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and UT of Chandigarh.

Fingers are most important accessories in human beings, strong fingers are a sign of strength in men and slender fingers are a sign of beauty in women. It is well known fact that the Finger Print Science is applied for the last one hundred and eight years for identification and detection of crimes in all the countries of the world.

I wish to give a brief introduction about the finger print science. The fingers, palmer surface of the hands and the sole of the feet including toes are covered with a special kind of skin. This skin consists of elevated lines which are termed as “Ridges” and these ridges are formed in finger bulbs as different patterns. The depressions between the ridges are called as “Furrows”. The ridges are studded with microscopic pores. These pores are mouth of glands which secrets perspiration. This perspiration consists of oily matter, sweat and other secretions and it keeps the hand smooth lubricated and soft. Hence the friction skin does not get destroyed due to our daily work.

The Finger Print Science is based on this wonderful skin. These ridges formed in the fetus between six weeks and two months after the pregnancy and they get well developed after four months. These ridges are consistent till the decomposition of the body after death. Even if the outer layer of the skin is worn out or affected by injuries. The ridges regain their original form after healing.

Finger Print is a seal of identification given by “God” and God’s seal never discriminates men with women. The quality of individuality, permanency and persistency are one and the same for both men and women. Moreover finger prints could not establish the sex. We can not find two finger prints identical anywhere in this world unless they are made by one and the same finger of the same person. 

STAFF PATTERN AND CADRE

Finger Print Bureau, Phillaur has been declared separate Cadre vide amended Punjab Police Rule 1.1.

The Bureau has it permanent sanctioned strength of 72 Technical/ Non Technical officials headed by one DySP- cum- Director. The detail is as under:-

STRUCTURE & WORKING

All the officials working in the technical staff are especially Graduates (in the light of NCRB New Delhi Notification). These officials in the initial rank of Constable were selected from different units of Police Departments with a written consent to adopt this unit for permanent future career.

DIRECTOR

In the rank of DySP designated as Director for the purposes of 293 CrPC is solely responsible for day work and conduct of the 72 officials under his control. To cross check and sign the opinion of the Board of Expert in document cases (Criminal/ Civil cases) in the jurisdiction of section 293 CrPC. To constitute the Board of Experts in document work, to deploy requisite manpower in Distt. Pocket Bureaux if required.

DOCUMENT SECTION.

Very important section of the cadre, all disputed document cases/ suspected articles cases are received/ dispatched and kept under the lock of responsible Senior most Inspector-cum-FP Expert.

 PHOTO SECTION.

Under the control of Inspector, this section makes the life-size photo and enlargements of the disputed impressions also in cases of chance print found on movable articles received from Distt. Police.

SEARCH SECTION.

Search reference of arrested persons/un-identified dead bodies received in this section are searched manually/ through computer section.

STATE/NCRB SECTION.

In this section record slips of convicted criminals are received. One copy of the slip is kept for entry in local register, issuing DS. No .classification, test  NCA up to the filling stage. Other slips are being supplied to CFPB/ NCRB, N. Delhi for their record.

ELIMINATION SECTION.

In this section time barred record  slips of convicted criminals are being weeded out strictly as per rules in FPB, Manual .

COMPUTER SECTION.

FACTS-05 Finger Print Analysis & Criminal Tracing System is fully operational in this Bureau. Section references are carried out daily with the help of this Gadget. Finger Print Bureau, Punjab Police is the only State Police in the Country, whose officials have done the Data Entry with doing extra dedication as compared to other FACTS user States who have done the same job on payment through CMC, Hyderabad. Thus State Finger Print Bureau has saved State Exchequer. The system is retrieving successfully.

TRAINING SECTION.

New entrants are given step by training in the art of FP Science to make them excellent Finger Print professional’s i.e FP Experts, training to all promotional courses at MRS, PPA, Indoor wing is being imparted through sophisticated instructional staff including proficient class & single digit cum photography course. It is a matter of pride that BPRD-New Delhi has selected only Punjab Finger Print Bureau, Phillaur to trained 11 Security Officials of Palesthian on 1998 and 6 Afghanistan Crime Branch Officials on 2005.  

 TRAINING

Selection officials will be imparted a “Basic Technical Training” of six month’s duration in various disciplines connected with Finger Print, such as classification of ten digit Finger Print slips, their filling, indexing, searching and elimination. Only after successful completion of this training programme, they will be entrusted with full responsibility and work as fixed on the standard norms in relation to other Bureaux. First year of the officials after induction in F.P.B will be considered as “probation Period”. Hence forth a service number to be maintained in FPB will be allotted to the officials at the time of induction in to Bureau on deputation the officials are being imparted training in following basic of fingerprint science and the same will be retained in case of his permanent absorption . This service number will be vacated in case the official fails to acquire expertise and he shall be repatriated back to his parent unit. Before repatriation to his parent unit a candidate will be given a maximum of three chances to qualify” All India Examination Board of Finger Print Expert”.

1. Finger Print Proficiency course

2. Single Digit & Photography Course

3. Codification and Computer Course

4. Advance Finger Print Science and Computer Course

5. Courses run at NCRB, New Delhi and Lok-Nayak Jai Parkash Narayan Institute of Criminology Rohini New Delhi.

TAKING FINGERPRINTS OF DEAD BODIES

 Where the identity of a corpse or of a person killed in an accident or who has died under suspicious circumstances or in the act of committing a crime has not been fully ascertained by ordinary investigation, the fingerprints of the deceased are taken to trace the identity.

Those who have died presently and rigor mortis has not set in, the process of fingerprinting is quite simple. If the fingers are entirely flexible, prints can be taken as usual. If the fingers are not flexible, a little massage of the fingers will make them flexible.

The dead bodies where rigor mortis has set in, the same can be overcome temporarily and the finger impressions can be taken easily. Apply ink thinly on the fingers with the help of a rubber roller or spread ink thinly on a spatula or a blunt knife and then ink the fingers by rolling it over the fingers by rolling it over the fingers. Fix a square paper on the broad side of wooden pad and roll the wooden pad from one side of the finger to the other. The prints of the fingers can then be pasted on a fingerprint slip in sequences format.

When decomposition has already set in: (a) when the skin is shrunken and hard, the finger should be treated with a dilute solution of sodium hydroxide. The dried and crippled skin regains its normal shape due to swelling by the absorption of the solution. It is then dried inked and printed. If the flesh is found to be too soft, it should be treated with alcohol or formaldehyde for hardening. If the fingers are saturated with Noah and are too wet, the fingers should be treated with acetone then dried, inked and printed when the body is in an advanced stage of decomposition, plastic regeneration f digital extremities is helpful.

(b) This is done by injecting liquid Vaseline hot water, glycerin or melted paraffin wax into the bulb of the finger through a very fine needle till the finger reaches its original shape and size. The fingers are then carefully inked and printed.

(c) Air is injected through a very fine needle as in the above case, till the digital bulb in conveniently inflated and the prints are then taken.

(d) when the flesh is soft and flabby and the outer skin also and fragile, the skin should be carefully removed from the finger (autopsy surgeon) and hard end in fifteen percent formaldehyde solution for about and hour, then dried, inked and printed.

(e) When the skin tissue is so badly decomposed, X-ray photography is useful. The procedure is as follows:

The x-ray opaque medium-Bismuth Carbonate or lead carbonate is applied to the inner surface of the fingers and distributed by gentle massage so as to fill in the depression only. The excess is wiped off and photograph taken by usual x-ray procedure. In the photograph these depressions will be shown as white line and ridges as black.

If the fingers are dried and shriveled due to excessive heat or when burnt they should be kept in a strong solution of ammonia for about a week, till they appropriate their natural condition. The fingers are ten washed, dried, linked and printed.

ROLE OF FINGERPRINTS IN DISASTER VICTIM IDENTIFICATION

All living beings depend upon the mercy of nature and are often subjected to the vagaries of it whom disaster strikes such as earthquake, floods, tsunami, air crash, ship wreck, railway accidents, fire, emissions of radiation, chemical release and the like.

In such unforeseen and unpredictable nature calamities, a mass of innocent population get affected and require proper and positive identification of persons who lose their lives for insurance claim, financial assistance to the dependents etc.

Fingerprints are the best means for identifications disaster victims. Fingerprint expert's team play very vital role in such situations. The experts in groups may visit such sites depending upon the estimated number of the dead/wounded. The services of specially trained fingerprint experts with adequate infrastructure to record clear and identifiable fingerprints are to be made available.

The ultimate aim of all the disaster victim identification operations must invariable be to establish the identity of each and every victim by comparing and matching ante-mortem and post-mortem date of fingerprints.

PURPOSE OF TAKING FINGERPRINTS

• For permanent record, on being convicted by a court of law.
• For search in the records to establish identity and to ascertain previous criminal history, on arrest in connection with a crime.
• To establish identity of unidentified dead bodies including disaster victim.
• For comparison with chance prints developed from the scene of crime or on crime articles.
• For use in place of or in addition to signatures.
• For comparison with questioned prints on documents.

Applications:

 Apart from forensics application of fingerprints include the following areas:

1. Passport

2. Driving license

3.  Banking

4. Electronic voting

5. Competitive examinations

6. Employment registration

7. Insurance

8. Access control.

 FINGER PRINT AT THE SCENE OF CRIME

Scene of Crime:

One of the most important contributions science has made in the investigation of crime is the development of chance prints left behind by criminals at the scene of crime or on crime articles and their identification. As these prints come directly from the body of the person, their development and identification help to establish his physical presence at the scene of crime. A fragment of a chance print with adequate matching points found at the scene of crime or on a crime article, as long as it is inconsistent with innocence, is considered sufficient to sustain a conviction.

At the scenes of crime, experts use various methods, latest equipments and multiple light sources to develop the chance prints and photograph these chance prints, which are then compared with specimen/admitted fingerprints.

If the crime is a murder, the manner of committing the murder may indicate the field of search. Thus, in a case of suspected poisoning, glasses, bottles, cups, saucers, spoons, cupboard, etc. should be examined carefully.

If the victim was shot, firearms. Fired cartridge cases, unfired cartridges, cartridge boxes, belts, and tables where arms and ammunitions were possibly kept, are to be looked for.

If the victim was stabbed, all sharp pointed or sharp edge objects are to be examined. All objects which may have figured in the quarrel preceding the crime or during the commission of the crime or object used by the criminal to destroy evidence prior to or during their flight from the scene of crime would be meticulously examined. It is the rich experience and the imaginative and practical approach of the expert that makes all the difference.

Scene of crime prints:

Fingerprints found at the scene of crime may be broadly divided into three kinds.

i. Visible prints:

Prints visible to the naked eye formed by finger stained with some colored materials such blood, ink, paint, dirt etc. are known as visible prints. These prints usually need no development and can be photograph straightway.

ii. Plastic Prints:

Plastic prints are found when the finger touches or presses against a plastic or pliable surface or a dusty surface in such a way that a negative cast of the ridge formation is produced on that surface. These prints usually need no development and can be photograph straightway.

iii. Latent Fingerprint:

Latent fingerprints may be defined as those markings usually rather indistinct, left by oily matter or perspiration on any smooth and absorptive surface, which the fingers may have touched.

When the finger come in contact with some smooth and absorptive surface, certain substances in the sweat are transferred from ridges to that surface resulting in the formation of latent fingerprints.

Fingerprint Developing Kit:

Finger print experts carry with them a latent print developing kit consisting of variety of powders and brushes, lifting materials, magnifying glass, flash light, two pairs of gloves, one pair of scissors, one pocket knife, one tape and fingerprinting  kits and slips. Modern fingerprint developing kits are available in the market.

 Scene of Crime fingerprint development

The selected powder is lightly applied to the suspected surface with a fine fingerprint brush. The brush is applied firstly in one direction and then in the other direction and when the ridges start appearing the brushing is done in a way that its motion follows the flow of ridges. When sufficient powder adheres to the impression, the excess powder is carefully brushed away with a light soft touch of the brush or by light tapping. The developed prints are immediately photographed after appropriate markings.

Physical method of fingerprint development:

The main requirements of good quality fingerprint powders are the strong affinity towards the latent residue of the sweat left over the object and firm sticking property with the surface of the object bearing latent fingerprints. However, the selection of suitable powder depends upon the expert who is to develop the prints. A variety of fingerprint powders with different compositions and in various shades are available in the market. The most commonly used powders are black and grey powders. The black powders are used for developing prints on light coloured surfaces and grey powders are used on dark coloured surfaces to get maximum contrast.

When latent prints are to be developed on a multicoloured surface, a fluorescent powder can be applied. The prints developed with fluorescent powders glow under U-V rays and then can be photographed on an ordinary black and white film. Varieties of frequently used powders are black powder, white powder, grey powder, fluorescent powder, magnetic powder, aluminum powder etc

Chemical method of fingerprint development:

Iodine Fuming method:

Development of latent fingerprints by iodine fuming method is perhaps the oldest method of developing latent impressions on porous surfaces especially on documents and the method still continues to have an important place in fingerprint work. When iodine crystals are subjected to moderate heat, they vaporize, producing violet coloured fumes. When the fat and oil deposits of the latent impressions come in contact with the iodine fumes, prints become visible in yellowish brown colour. The prints developed with iodine fumes are not permanent and they begin to fade as soon as the fuming in withdraw and therefore, when they appear in full intensity, they should be photographed straight away.

1. Use steam to make the prints deeper in colour

2. Starch solution for permanent fixation of the developed prints.

Cyanocrylate fuming method:

Cyanocrylate fuming has been successfully used for the development of latent prints on surfaces as diverse as plastics, electrical tape, garbage bags, Styrofoam, carbon paper, aluminum foil, unfinished wood, rubber, cellophane and smooth rocks. Place three drops of liquid Cyanocrylate into a small porcelain dish, and place the dish into the fuming cabinet, allow the item to be exposed to the fumes for at least two hours until white coloured fingerprint appear. The prints can be further enhanced by dusting with regular or magnetic fingerprint powder and appropriate dyes.

Ninhy drine technique:

The development of latent fingerprints with Ninhydrine is based on the chemical reaction of Ninhydrine with amino acids, which are present in the sweat.

Normally a 3% solution of Ninhydrine is used which is prepared by dissolving 3 gms. of Ninhydrine is 100 cc acetone or ethyl alcohol. This solution may be applied to the surface by spraying or dipping. The drawback is that the ink writing on the document is destroyed during the process; this drawback can be overcome by the following technique.

Two semi absorbent papers are soaked in the solution and allowed to dry for a few seconds; the document to be examined is sandwiched between these papers and kept in a dry mounting press at medium temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. Pink to purple coloured prints are developed which are permanent and can be preserved for several months. When the developed prints reach their full intensity, they are photographed. The advantage of Ninhydrine technique is that it is successful even on very old prints.

Lifting or Fingerprints:

When it is possible to develop a print, but not photograph it effectively due to the physical location of the print, or reflection of light or when the print is on a multicoloured or very heavy object the print is lifted away using appropriate lifting tapes.

Technique:

After the latent fingerprint has been developed with suitable fingerprint powder, the sticky surface of the fingerprint lifter, selected according to the surface of the object and colour of the powder used, is pressed against the developed print in a careful manner. After the lifter has been uniformly pressed over the developed print, it is carefully peeled off from the surface and straight away pressed on the plastic sheet carefully ensuring no air bubbles. Specially made fingerprint lifting tapes are available in the market. All procedural formalities should be strictly adhered to which lifting chance prints at the scenes of crime.

Computerisation of Finger Prints:-

Fully automated Finger Print Analysis and Criminal Tracing System (FACTS) was installed at Finger Print Bureau, Phillaur under Modernisation

Scheme in the month  of  June  2003 and  became  operational  in  the  month of September

2003. This system is successfully operational i.e. loading and retrieving scanned Finger Print record. The performance report of the system is as under:-

• Total 1,86,000 Finger Print Record of active criminal have been loaded on to the FACTS in  record period of time i.e. one year by FPB officials saving the State Exchequer of Rs. 22 Lac in comparison to other FACTS using states who have done data entry from CMC Ltd. Hyderabad at the cost of Rs. 12 Per Slips.

• 33,000 Finger Print Search Queries have been retrieved since its installation out of which the system responded 5107 as traced. The response time of the system to one search query in only few minutes whereas on the manual searching system it took at least two to five days, thus enables prompt interrogation of persons traced in Finger Print records. As a whole improved the professional competency and proving sizable deferent to crime detection.

• Due to speedy disposal of search work through FACTS the extra Finger Print Experts have been attached with almost all Distt, Creating Finger Print Pocket Bureaux for effective crime detection helping law enforcing agencies at the optimum wherever permissible.