IDENTIFICATION of the FBI DIVISION
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----~---- ----_.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. National Criminal Justice Reference Service --------------~~---------------------------------------------------nCJrs This microfiche was produced from documents received for incll..~5ion in the NCJRS data base. Since NCJRS cannot exercise control over the physical condition of the documents submitted, the individual frame quality will vary. The resolution chart on this frame may be used to evaluate the document quality. I 2 5 I 1.0 :; IllFa 11111 . w 1~11_3.2 I w I ~ mj£ ! "' t Il: 1.:1... ~ i . II 1.1. ""fJ.Ir.::.~ . ! I . ! i (" ,~ 111111.25 111111.4 111111.6 1 !' I !~. f j' j I I"y . ~ j MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS-J963-A I ~ i . j ! I " _" "''''''c' -' ~.' I MicrofilmIng proc~du;es used to create this fiche comply wifFI , the standards set forth in 41CFR 101-11.504. I o , Points of view or opinions stated in this document are • 1 those of the author(s) and do not represent the official i f, position or policies of the U. S. Department of Justice. ~ATE FI LMED I ! I ,r\~" if j 12/01/81l ~ ·lN~t!o!laII~.~~!!.u!~:Qfjustice ' .. ;~~_,.'~' ......" "' __ ' I United States Department of Justice I 1 ! Washington, D. C. 20531 .. M I • -" ... - ...---~ "--..' -. ... "----...- .• --- ...... ~. -" •• -" ----y ,.-t- .- .--~- ~ ... _-.-. "" -, .-- J , , ;x THE IDENTIFICATION DIVISION ment of Justice 78611 of the U,S, Depart, of Justice National Institute ived from the ' ment has bee~ ~epr,o duced't Points exactly of view as receor Opl 'nions ecessarily stated ;:~~o~o~~ OrganiZati~n t~~;~~;nt~~' ~~thor~ ~~d Nd~i~~~1 ~nstitute of , 0 essional law enforcement representin this documen~ the officI ~rl a position or poliCies 0 HE ,,," f"W;'~o'~;:;: :::: b~' :';Jb"'~ '; ',~:":::;:::: :; FBI Justice, , !lIed material has been Permission 10 re Produce Ihis C8J3"fl~ scientificT :::;' methods, i~:'~::~ t ed~:~~":;'~~d'~"::';;:';';'" f improlied and new types :;:;:i;::::: granted ~y in/DO.I PublJ.c Doma T ' the use 0 'fr' rs. "ti'" f"~ '''~'' 'f ",i"d """ P' "" ,b '~' i,di.id" II, '''p". "d th, d'd"'~";" '" b, ,i"I,d '" " ,"'J If an attempt were ' inal Justice Reference Service (NGJRS), N, '" ,,, . h, b", "h"" . ,,,h- to the National Grim quires permis- ' the progress willch a f their dramatic and far-r ' outside of th e NGJRS system re made,"bl, f"hOllielicr, to I'",I th,,,I i, wouldth",d" halie , to be gllie" roth, "i"" 'f Further repr~~~~~ owner, ' prominent pace , sion of the c i" '''P''''.' .. .". .. ,1 id"tif'" ,,,,. fi""p"ot ,d"" f;~'\' ,d, p"d " th, "old 'f "'; '.' th, "i,d 'f th, Being pecu lar y to be closely associate In, 'n offenders. A brief outline of the ' t has come 'd identlfYIn" history, the services,o and the "" ith 'h, p"bl,,,, 'f 1,,"m, "'d, " f'" th, fi~,,,p,,,f "~,,. 1" ,"',,' W l,wb""", "'h "~' "; " , i,di"","I, i"p,,'" Th,",,,d, , . "i"" b""" 'f'm,. , . , i"",p,bl, " h" 0 b ~" operating technrqueso f the world's greatest quences Iof leftthelr eh' In d, The neeing felone ISbeanng tl~ the inked impres- ""1,,,lawless ,past by a ,Sl,," ",db,,,,his way, ,q,,,.approximate 1,y , 527 f"irl." '" ' f hi, fi"""p'. I" , _ repoSI~oryOJ. of fingerprintso '''"' h '''h. , ,. 1""tif"'''''. ,,,. id'""f"d~ '" .,: " i" 'ff"ti."~,, m~""m;" pf,l " "" 'h""h In addltl.. pnnt, has become increasingly~ T s wit, h I 0 lied ones who '"". th, .1m,,, "'''. It ""it" i" f,l "", '; , P'" f" th, "f"',. i" h'''''''''''' ,,, i'g; it p",id" , "'~'~' 'f "",d, it ""1,,, b", 1",,, "d b, ''''"i,; "d m "":I n,I 'f dl""" h,,,nate ' personh d uncertaintytonnen, by establishing the en 'h, anguls e 'natinn and often ' , , b ' ny the Jasel~ " lilctlm. f II Wl'nn pages picture , t I'dentification. They The JO 0" 'ofn~ flngerpnn , , , '''"i" d"d,p"", :!:~,:'::;';,,,,, 'f 'h, ld'otif";::':h~'~~:::: also tell the stoB" 'f, of the Federal urea 'f, 1""ti,"ir rint _ an.. effectllie"d h,. antI';"~~'P,",'bl' I ,,,1 th roug h th e lIse of the flnget p of modern law enforcemen . OF INVESTIGA T/ON FEDERAL BUREAU MENT OF JUSTICE UNITED STATES DEPART , . 'NCJRS MAY 27198' ACQU"smot~5 , quired natives to affix their fingerprints as well,as their signatures to contracts. Appar ently he had no idea originally that the marks were individual but adopted the practice with the thought that this very personal type of contact with official papers would be impressive to the native mind and would discourage dishonesty and default. As familiarity with finger impressions grew, however, their individuality must have become evident to him, for in In tracing the origin of the fingerprint science we must draw a distinction between the realization that the tips of the fingers bear diversified ridges and the application of this knowledge to the problem of Herschel introduced the use of fingerprin ts in several d~partments at Hoogh.ly an.d. als~ sub personal identification. 1877 mitted a report asking permission to extend the practIce as a means of IdentIflcatIon of Unquestionably, man's consciousness of the patterned ridges on his fingers and palms predates prisoners as well as parties to civil contracts. This permission was not forthcoming, but the Christian era by many centuries and h2s been evidenced in varying degrees by successive civilizations. Herschel, within his own province, applied the system extensively. He did not, however, On the face of a cliff in Nova Scotia, for instance, has been found prehistoric Indian" picture writing" of a evolve a method of classification suitable for general use. hand with ridge patterns crudely marked. Scholars refer to the impression of fingerprints on clay tablets At about this same time Dr. Henry Faulds, of Tsukiji Hospital in Tokyo, Japan, began his recording business transactions in ancient Babylon and to clay seals of ancient Chinese origin bearing observations of fingerprints. The English scientific journal, "Nature," in thumb prints. The Apostle Paul concludes one of his epistles with the words, "The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write." Some have inferred from these words that Paul used his finger impressions as a distinctive signature. Chinese documents identified with the eighth published an article by Dr. Faulds, discussing his studies and making suggestions as to century (A.D.) T'ang Dynasty refer to fingerprints being impressed upon business contracts. 1880 the future possibilities of the fingerprint science. His ideas are remarkable for their antic It is conjectural to what extent these earlier instances of fingerprinting were intended for actual ipation of present-day practices. He recommended the use of a thin film of printer's ink as identification of the persons impressing the prints. Certainly in some cases the object was simply to add a transfer medium, just as is generally used today. He discussed quite fully the potential more or less superstitious solemnity to business contracts through the personal contact of the contracting ities of identification of criminals by their fingerprints left at the scenes of crimes, just as parties' fingerprints with the written record. in the modern science of latent fingerprint identification. As a matter of fact, Faulds, him There is evidence, however, that the fact of the individuality of fingerprints, though not put to self, demonstrated the practical application of his theory by establishing th\"ough greasy practical use, dawned recurrently through the ages. In fourteenth century Persia, various official govern fingerprint marks the identity of a person who had been drinking some rectified spirits from ment papers were reportedly impressed with fingerprints, and the observation was made by a government the laboratory supply - certainly one of the earliest latent fingerprint identifications of official who was also a physician that the fingerprints of no two persons were exactly alike. modern times. In 1684, Dr. Nehemiah Grew; a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, in the course of a lec ture commented upon the ridge patterns appearing on the fingers. But if any of these early adventures in is the year in which appears the first authenticated record of official use of fingerprints in fingerprint observation had any direct influence on the men who are the fathers of the modern science of the United States. Mr. Gilbert Thompson of the United States Geological Survey, while in fingerprint identification, the known record does not reflect it. 1882 charge of a field project in New Mexico, used his own fingerprint on commissary orders to A scientific approach to fingerprinting was essential before it could be put to practical use on any prevent their forgery. extensive scale. The outline which follows begins with what are believed to be the first scientific obser vations which may reasonably be supposed to have contributed to the inception of modern fingerprint identi An interesting sidelight, which had possible effect on the introduction of fingerprint identi fication. These observations were made in fication into the United States, occurred in by Marcello Malp~ghi, Prof~ssor of Anatomy ~t the University of Bo.logna. Malpighi, making 1686 with the pUblication of Mark Twain's "Life on the Mississippi." An episode in this book use of a newly dIscovered lOstrument, the mIcroscope, noted and dIscussed in his treatises relates to the identification of a murderer by his thumbprint. Mark Twain further developed "certain elevated ridges" describing "divets figures" on the palmar surfaces. He per 18 8 3 his theme ten years later in 1893 with the publication of "Pudd'n'-head Wilson," a novel ceived them to be "drawn out into loops and "pirals" at the ends of the fingers.