Enhancement of Fingermarks on Grease-Contaminated, Nonporous Surfaces: A Comparative Assessment of Processes for Light and Dark Surfaces

• NCJ Number: 242794
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 63 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2013 Pages: 286-319
• Author(s): C. Gaskell; S.M. Bleay; H. Willson; S. Park
• Date Published: June 2013
• Length: 34 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study presents an evaluation of several processes for the enhancement of fingermarks in scenarios where greasy contamination may be present.

Abstract

An evaluation of several processes for the enhancement of fingermarks in scenarios where greasy contamination may be present is reported. The results indicate that there may be benefits in conducting sequential processing using one or more of the processes studied to maximize the recovery of fingermarks from grease-contaminated evidence. In Part 1 of this study, the authors found that there are differences between the classes of contaminant enhanced by individual processes and that if the type of contaminant is known, it may be possible to identify the most appropriate enhancement process. In Part 2, the optimum enhancement process for three different scenarios (contaminated mark on clean surface, natural mark on layer of contaminant, natural mark under layer of contaminant) was investigated. In some cases, processes that were highly sensitive to contaminants were most effective. In other cases, processes that did not stain the contaminant but targeted natural fingermarks gave the best results. (Published Abstract)