Crime Scene Investigator Network Newsletter

JULY 2007

Welcome to the July 2007 Crime Scene Investigator Network Newsletter

Fingerprint Age Determination:
Is There Any Hope?

Kasey Wertheim

From the Journal of Forensic Identification
Vol. 53, No. 1, January/February 2003*

Fingerprint age determination is not a new concept. Many have realized the benefit that an accurate method of dating a latent print would provide. Convictions can hinge on whether a particular print was left during the commission of the crime or might have been left at a prior time, as is usually claimed by a defendant. For this reason and others, numerous attempts have been made to establish an accurate test for latent fingerprint age determination.

First, a distinction should be made between age determination and “time of placement”. If the suspect was seen handling an item, and it could be proved that he had not had access to the item before or after that time, then it could be said with certainty that the latent print could only have been left at that time. For example, if the newspaper bearing the latent print in question was dated the day before the crime, the suspect’s statement that he was in the victim’s home several days prior to the crime, and not after, could be refuted. Another nonexperimental method to establish the time of placement of a latent print would involve items that are regularly cleaned or washed. It can generally be said that a latent print residing on such a surface was left more recently than the last thorough cleaning. These, and other similar situations, demonstrate how nonexperimental methods can sometimes establish the “time of placement” of latent prints. However, the scope of this article will consider only age determination from an analysis of the latent print residue itself.

Some have claimed that the appearance of a latent print upon development with powder can offer insight as to the age of the print. An examiner may infer that a latent print is “fresh” based on how the powder adheres to the ridges, or on the clarity of the ridge detail. In State v Hulbert (1981), a fingerprint technician testified that latent prints developed on window glass from a home burglary were made “within the previous two days”. He drew his conclusion from the fact that the fingerprint powder “went on fast”. When the Frye test is applied, this method of age determination fails; it has not been generally accepted in the field of fingerprints. Further, under Federal Rule 702 and recent Daubert criteria, this method would most likely be considered unreliable. Many factors could cause some older prints to absorb powder just as “fast”. A 1975 study of the effects of temperature and humidity on latent print deposits concluded that “the clarity of a developed print is primarily related to the original latent print quality” and that “it is not possible to determine that a fingerprint is fresh or several weeks old by...observing how the print develops when the dusting powder is applied”.

< read the complete article >

*From the Journal of Forensic Identification Vol. 53, No. 1, Jan/Feb 2003.
The Official Publication of the International Association for Identification "Reproduction of the Journal of Forensic Identification, in whole or in part, for noncommercial, educational use is permitted provided proper citation of the source is noted."

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New CSI and Forensic Job Announcements

Civilian Crime Scene Technician | Davenport, Iowa Police Department
Final Filing Date: July 20, 2007
Salary: $2,940.25 - $3,855.25 Monthly
The crime scene technician oversees complex crime scene investigations, including but not limited to homicides, sexual assaults, armed robberies, home invasions, and property crimes such as burglaries; processes crime scenes, packaging and transporting evidence, attending and photographing autopsies and attending briefings and conferences with the police agencies requesting assistance; prepares investigative reports, testify in court, receive continuing education, instruct classes, and maintain equipment in a state of readiness; the crime scene technician is expected to respond to calls for crime scene services as quickly as good judgment and safety allows; process scenes of major crimes at any hour of the day or night, under any weather conditions, systemically surveys area and formulates a plan of procedure; physically secures crime scenes (using ropes, barricades, police personnel, etc.) before conducting a search for all objects and articles that may be evidence; evidence identified must be collected and properly packaged; this function includes efficient lifting and preserving of various types of evidence; maintains an in-depth knowledge of federal and state statutes, court cases related to work performed and agency rules and regulations.
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Crime Scene Technician | City of Waterbury, Connecticut
Final Filing Date: July 20, 2007
Salary: $716.74 - $975.34 / week
Evaluates and physically secures crime scenes, using various types of equipment. Identifies, collects and prepares physical evidence for scientific evaluation and comparison. Establishes a permanent record describing the crime scene by writing detailed reports, preparing accurate sketches and diagrams, and by applying professional photographic techniques. Gives expert testimony in criminal court cases, regarding the results of analysis and examination of physical evidence. Maintains forensic field and laboratory supplies for the department.
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Crime Scene Analyst II | City of Henderson, Nevada
Final Filing Date: July 23, 2007
Salary: $34.14 – $39.09 / hour
Responds to and participates in crime scene investigations including searching for, identifying and evaluating physical evidence; performs the most difficult tasks during the investigation of crimes including leading homicide investigations. Evaluates crime scene; lifts and photographs fingerprints; obtains suspect and elimination prints; documents crime scene with photographs, sketches and diagrams; and prepares charts and displays for court presentations. Conducts fingerprint comparisons and eliminations; classifies fingerprints, as appropriate. Conducts fingerprint identifications. Collects, preserves, and maintains integrity of evidence in the field and in the laboratory; ensures accuracy of information received; properly packages, stores and secures evidence and maintains chain of custody. Conducts presumptive tests for the presence of blood, semen, and other substances. Process items to locate and recover trace evidence. Attends autopsies to collect clothing and other evidence, fingerprints, and take photographs. Trains assigned employees in the methods and techniques of crime scene investigations. Prepares crime scene reports and documentation; ensures accuracy, proper grammar and completeness. Testifies as an expert witness in court. Recovers, unloads and impounds firearms. Participates in required training to obtain/maintain certification(s) in crime scene analysis and other disciplines. May act as lead analyst for crime scene investigations directing the work of other analysts.
<View complete job listing>

Crime Scene Technician | Tacoma, Washington Police Department
Final Filing Date: August 10, 2007
Salary: $22.78 to $27.96 per hour
Crime Scene Technicians perform specialized, technical work gathering, processing and preserving evidence at crime scenes in support of law enforcement activities. Examples of work include but are not limited to detecting, collecting, preserving, packaging, and transporting evidence; processing for latent fingerprints; performing forensic photography and producing crime scene diagrams. Crime Scene Technicians also prepare comprehensive written reports and testify in courts of law. The Forensic Services Section of the Tacoma Police Department currently operates 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Crime Scene Technicians are subject to standby and call-out assignments and work a variety of shifts and days of the week. Position requires lifting objects weighing up to 50 pounds, walking, standing, sitting, pushing/pulling, balancing, climbing, kneeling, bending, stooping and dragging. Incumbents will be required to use a respirator and personal protective equipment when working around hazardous chemicals and evidence that may be biohazardous or carcinogenic.
<View complete job listing>

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<LA panel wants police to add 27 DNA evidence criminalists>
A city panel wants the Police Department to hire another 27 criminalists to study crime scene DNA evidence. The LAPD's Scientific Investigation Division would need $1.1 million for the current fiscal year and $2.2 million in subsequent years.
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<Michigan Woman Uses Forensic Tests to Show Her Husband Was Unfaithful>
The Associated Press reported that forensics equipment owned by the Michigan State Police was used by an employee to determine whether or not her husband had been unfaithful.
Associated Content - Denver, CO, by Veronika Fevers

<Anderson City Council to consider approving funds for new investigators>
Three more investigators soon could be fighting crime in the city of Anderson, thanks to Justice Assistance Grants totaling $398,542. The three one-year grants, which take effect in July, will provide funding for two crime-scene investigators, one white-collar crime unit investigator, three vehicles and various equipment including computers, investigative tools, radios, a digital video recorder and weapons.
Anderson Independent Mail - Anderson, SC, by Doug Staley

<DNA Lab Growing>
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department crime lab has a seven-month backlog for top-priority cases like homicides and cases with trials pending. Rape evidence is backlogged nine months. The Cal-DNA lab is working overtime to reduce a backlog of more than 50,000 samples, down from 250,000 last September. But more DNA samples arrive daily -- about 18,000 a month from convicted felons as they're released from prison.
Riverside Press-Enterprise - Riverside, CA, by Cassie MacDuff

<Police to get high-tech scanner>
It's been almost a year since the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives removed a ballistics machine from the local GBI offices. Now Chatham County commissioners want to get that piece of equipment back - and provide additional new scanning technology to the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department.
Savannah Morning News, Savannah, GA, by Pamela E. Walck

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