NCJ Number
202534
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 53 Issue: 5 Dated: September/October 2003 Pages: 538-544
Date Published
September 2003
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article explores the recovery of a developed latent print from the inside of a compound curved surface.
Abstract
Photographing developed prints on surfaces that are not easy to view, such as on the inside of glass handles, can be challenging. The article illustrates how developed prints may be photographed without removing the handle by using flexible casting materials, such as Mikrosil, Durocast, or Coe Flex. The author used a white ceramic coffee mug to show how a print from inside the mug handle could be subjected to a fluorescent dye and visualized with a forensic light source. A two-part casting material was mixed and applied over the area of the developed latent print. Once the casting had hardened, the author removed it from the mug handle, capturing the shape of the latent print. The article describes the two methods that can be successfully used to record the developed latent print: reverse photography and scanning the impression or photograph into a software program that inverts the image. The use of Silly Putty was also investigated as a technique to lift the latent print from the inside of the mug handle, but the author concluded that the elastic nature of the Silly Putty resulted in distortion of the latent print. The author thus suggests that the use of flexible casting materials is best when recovering a latent print from irregularly shaped surfaces or from difficult locations. Figures