NCJ Number
134492
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 42 Issue: 1 Dated: (January/February 1992) Pages: 26-33
Date Published
1992
Length
8 pages
Annotation
A research experiment was conducted to compare the latent fingerprint detection sensitivity of vacuum metal deposition to that of cyanoacrylate ester fuming followed by fluorescent dye staining with specific wavelength illumination on low density polyethylene substrates.
Abstract
The technique of vacuum metal deposition consists of coating a substrate with a thin layer of metal. Under low atmospheric pressure, the metal is resistively heated until it evaporates and deposits onto the surface to be coated. The technique of metal deposition to reveal fingerprints has been conducted successfully in the United Kingdom since 1976. Police agencies in Norway, Italy, Holland, and Australia have become users since that time. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police acquired a Model E-600 fingerprint coating chamber in September 1989. The test described in this article was conducted with this machine. Five types of polyethylene were used, and five test comparisons were conducted. The metal deposition technique developed more identifiable latents in each test, with an overall advantage of 17 percent for the entire experiment. Although the age of the latents varied, no definite trend in success rate could be observed for either technique. The high capital costs associated with vacuum metal deposition negates its widespread use in Canada at the present time. Its use should be reserved for major cases. 9 references and 4 figures